The Tears of Heaven
by Velvet95
Summary: Sequel to R.A.a.V.A. - The Fire Ferrets squadron struggles to heal old wounds even as a new enemy emerges from the depths of space...
1. Chapter 1

**[AN] Aaaaand we're back! So sorry it took so long to get this one going, my other works of course took longer than I thought, plus life. Life is a thing. A thing that consumes a lot of time.**

 **Anyway, here we go!**

* * *

The therapy garden at University Hospital covers around five acres of carefully designed landscaping. There are wide open areas with soft grass and mosses, designed to make the patient feel unconfined. Other areas are labyrinths of beautifully maintained hedges for those who feel the desperate need to hide from view.

It's a place I've spent a lot of time over the past couple of years.

I take a deep breath and look around. I have to sell a potentially controversial idea to two hot headed people, which is always going to be a little tough. I step through the gates and onto a slate stone path that leads through a copse of trees into a broad expanse of lawn.

I finally see my target on the grass on the far side of the lawn, three figures sprawled in the glass gazing up into the sky. As I approach I catch their conversation.

"… looks like a ferret, hey Bo?"

"Nah, that's no ferret. That one over there is way more ferret like. It even has flames. Right, Bo?"

My heart sinks as I get closer. My former squadmate, Lieutenant Bolin, has been arranged carefully onto a blanket. His face bears the same blank look that it always does, his eyes empty, his hands limp at his sides. A cable runs from a black box on the back of his wheelchair and disappears under his hospital scrubs. On either side of him lie a couple of his old comrade in arms, Captains Jinora and Opal, otherwise known as Wee Bitch and Mad Bitch. They come regularly, taking him out of his hospital room and hanging out with him, hopeful that some day he'll be able to finally respond.

It's a hope that my girlfriend, Doctor Asami Sato, has steadily and sadly relinquished. The sheer volume of damage to both his brain and psyche have proven beyond even the genius of her and her team to repair. She's only managed to keep him comfortable and somewhat mobile through a custom application of her top secret R.A.a.V.A., or Regenerative Assistant and Virtual Augmentation, system.

However, she's also said repeatedly that she believes in the potential of the unexpected, given everything we've gone through. Guess that's as close as a scientist like Asami will get to admit their might be miracles.

"AttenSHUN!" I bellow as I get closer. I giggle as Jinora and Opal instantly scramble to their feet, then catch sight of me and flop back down with twin glares.

"Such an _asshole_ ," Opal complains.

Jinora rolls her eyes in agreement.

"You two are always so respectful to your commanding officer."

Opal waves a lazy middle finger at me. "Yeah, yeah, Colonel. The same commanding officer who dared us to go streaking with her past the graduating class of Space Fighter Corps pilots and got us all tossed in the brig for two days."

I smirk. It was true, and it was worth it. My best friend and second in command Lieutenant Colonel Kuvira, aka Boss Bitch, had bet me a thousand yuans and a case of my favorite whiskey that I wouldn't actually do it.

I though Fleet Admiral Izumi was going to have a coronary her face had gone so red with rage but later there were witnesses to her snagging a couple of bottles from the case during our incarceration.

I really love that tough old broad.

I give Bolin his usual head rub and tug on his earlobe. When he first joined the squadron he'd always laugh and pull me into a headlock in retaliation, to the utter horror of his brother.

I sigh at the memory of Mako and Iroh, two other squadron mates lost too soon. There was also Song, the gruff Sergeant lost during the mission to protect Asami and her precious achievement; the AI Raava, then and now an incredible boon to humanity.

I look carefully at Bolin as I sit down.

"You know, B, I used to wish you'd shut up so often," I say conversationally. "But I think enough time has passed. You can start telling your shitty jokes again, and I won't mind."

Jinora sniffs. I look over to see Opal wrap one arm around her shoulders.

"I'm thinking its time to get you out of this hospital," I say again, looking back at Bolin, but really talking to the two women staring at me. "We've got a nice setup for you at the house. It's got a great view, super quiet and peaceful."

"You're giving up," Opal said, her voice low and tight.

I turn to her, keeping my face neutral.

"I promise I'm not."

Jinora cocked her head at me. "Then why are you taking him from the hospital?"

I look around briefly then lean forward, my hand holding Bolin's. "Look, the hospital has declared him a lost cause. They want the facilities he's using for new patients. If it was up to them he'd be institutionalized at one of the base veteran's hospitals to basically just sit there for the rest of his life."

Opal opens her mouth to argue but I hold up one hand.

"So instead, we put him up at our place. We can bring in whatever in-home care he needs, and Asami and Raava can continue to work with him." I stroke his knuckles. "At this point physically he's as good as can be expected. It's just his mind that's in trouble, and Asami thinks it might be useful to get him a change of scenery."

I see Opal start to relax, and now it's Jinora who's rubbing a comforting hand across her partner's knee.

Interesting. Asami might actually win this bet.

Just to be safe, I throw out the final coup de gras. "Also, Raava won't have to hide at our house, so its possible there are things she'll be able to try she simply can't do at the hospital."

I see them both get happy at this thought, and I finally start to relax myself. Bolin will always be Little Mouse to us — a brother in arms, and for whom we must always keep the faith. I was afraid my Bitches would put up a fight at anything that took him from the hospital's resources and Asami's research lab, but I'm glad to see they trust me enough to support this.

I hope to hell it helps.

"Good afternoon, everyone."

Almost as if summoned, the brilliant and beautiful Doctor Asami Sato has approached us unawares, but she smiles gently at all of us before kneeling at the R.A.a.V.A. case under Bolin's wheelchair to check the readouts.

Rumbled greetings come from all sides, and we watch as she reviews incomprehensible rows of numbers and graphs.

"Hrm, okay. Let's get you back inside, okay Lieutenant? You blood sugar is a bit low — time for dinner." She steps back as we lift Bolin back into wheelchair and start for the garden gate. Orderlies used to fuss at us doing this, citing hospital policy and other non-sensical drivel. One large orderly in particular made the mistake of putting a patronizing hand on Jinora's shoulder to move her out of the way. He discovered quickly that this was an incredibly bad idea as he found himself flat on the ground, one arm twisted painfully behind his back and her booted, albeit petite, foot pressed firmly against his trachea.

Word got around, and now the entire hospital knows not to mess with Bolin when the Bitches are around.

The air inside the hospital is always an unpleasant shock after the sweet aromas of the garden, and we all wrinkle our noses. As we emerge from the elevator and head toward's Bolin's room we spot a familiar imposing figure lounging nearby.

"Uncle Bumi!" Jinora squeals in delight and flings herself into a hug.

He chuckles and wraps his arms around her fondly. "I thought I'd stop by and regale our young Lieutenant with a new book I found at the library."

Bumi was the previous commander of the Special Forces division. While he had never known Bolin healthy and flying he had developed a special bond with the Fire Ferrets squadron during our mission and Special Forces, like the Space Fighter Corps, treat all members as family, known or not.

Over the past few years he'd taken to reading to Bolin once or twice a week, and the AI Raava with her ever practical understanding of human physiology but limited knowledge of thought patterns, had been astonished to see that Bolin at some level responded; his night terrors eased and his vitals improved.

Now Raava is in secret communication with some of the top psychologists in the United Federation — secret because none of them know who she really is. As far as they know she is a colleague of Doctor Sato's, and very thorough with her emailed questions.

Bumi looks over at me with a wicked green. "So, Colonel Korra, I trust you received your gift from me for your recent promotion?"

I groan. "Yes, you asshole. Thanks a lot."

Opal giggles. "A singing telegram during morning muster was outstanding, General."

Jinora pokes me. "With balloons, no less."

"Oh yeah," I growl. "All of the recruits are trying to get Izumi to change my callsign to Twinkletoes now."

"She might do it after the streaking incident," Jinora observes.

Asami turns to me with narrowed eyes at the reminder of my two days in the brig.

I groan. "Not helping, Wee."

Bumi chuckles, then gently nudges Jinora and Opal out of the way. "Come along, young Bolin. Adventure awaits!"

They disappear into Bolin's room and the rest of us head down the hallway towards the elevators.

Asami glances at me carefully. "Everything sorted out?"

"Yeah, we're good."

Asami looks over at Opal and Jinora. "Thank you," she says seriously. "Given how things initially went with Kuvira, I wasn't sure how you two would respond."

Jinora snorts. "I bet. She's good with this though?"

"It took a bit, but once we explained everything the third time, she was good. There were a few punches thrown though."

"Good for Boss," Opal beams.

"Not _helping_ , Mad!"


	2. Chapter 2

**[AN] Was great to see some reviews, looking forward to what y'all think of this next bit (especially you, 'Roar!)**

 **As for the guest with all the thoughts on the last chapter, hope to keep you entertained!**

 **:)**

* * *

"Officer on the deck!"

Spines snap straight everywhere as Admiral Izumi entered the hanger. I look up from where I'm outlining the day's mission to the space core student pilots, surprised to see my favorite flag officer. I glance over at my second in command, Lieutenant Colonel Kuvira, aka 'Boss Bitch' but she merely rolls her eyes and shrugs.

"At ease, pilots," Izumi says calmly, and the whole hanger visibly relaxes as she looks over at me. "Colonel, a word please." She glances at Kuvira. "You may as well come to, otherwise I'll have to report you for your shameless eavesdropping."

Kuvira huffed irritably, but still hustled over to follow us into my office, a small haven overlooking the bustle of the hanger. I notice Izumi gaze at the bottom of the file cabinet where she knows I keep a bottle of emergency whiskey. I smirk as I pull it out, along with three small glasses.

"This can't possibly be good news," Kuvira comments as she deftly snags the first pour.

The old admiral ignores her as she picks up her own glass. I finish my own pour and hold it up as Izumi raises hers in a toast.

"To old comrades."

"May they ever fly in calm space," we echo.

The whisky burns its familiar comfort in my throat, but I know it's not just nostalgia that brings the head of the United Forces high command to see us today.

I place my now empty glass back on my desk and lean back in my chair, waiting.

To my surprise and no small frustration Izumi doesn't appear to be in a hurry to get to the point. "It doesn't seem that long ago when you two were among those down there, hoping for a chance to fly."

"I think Iroh's record for the obstacle course still stands." Kuvira comments sourly.

I guffaw. "A fact for which you will forever be bitter."

"Son of a bitch re-ran it right before graduation, just so I wouldn't have time to beat him!"

I cough loudly and she bites her lip.

"Sorry, Admiral."

Izumi purses her lip. "Well technically, that's not inaccurate. He _was_ my son, and I _am_ a bitch."

"My favorite part about you." Kuvira assures her.

Izumi allows herself a small smile, then the smile fades and she looks out over the bustling hanger with a pensive expression. We sat in silence as she gathered her thoughts. Finally, she said, "I had hoped to live out my days in peace. With the collapse of the Fire System's military dictatorship and the new Planetary Peace Treaty signed, I thought—" She shakes her head. "A fool's dream, I suppose."

"Admiral?" I stare at her as my stomach starts to churn.

She finally meets my gaze. "We received word that a scientific expedition into the outer Zeta quadrant had missed several scheduled checkins. Just to be on the safe side we sent a recon ship out to have a look." She closed her eyes. "Almost the entire expedition was killed, executed. Most of the surveillance equipment was missing, as was their ship."

"Almost?" Kuvira growled.

"The man who funded the expedition and the expedition pilot are both unaccounted for."

I cock my head at Izumi's pained expression. "Do we know who they are?"

"The pilot is a man named Hotah. Upon further investigation we discovered he has an extensive criminal record, and would not normally be offered a position on such an expedition. However, he came with the ship provided by the expedition's backer. A man, I'm sorry to say, Colonel, you know all to well."

I blink as she continues.

"Your uncle, Unalaq."

Kuvira's jaw drops. "I thought he was stuck on one of the prison planets for life?"

"He was supposed to be," I growl. "How the _hell_ was he able to get back here?"

My uncle has been the bane of my family for my entire life. My father's younger brother, he rebelled against anything and everything the family stood for — honor, loyalty, generosity — my uncle spat on it in favor of greed and eventually power. Over time he had turned his youthful street gang into a criminal empire that ran rampant for years until he was finally caught and imprisoned.

Izumi shrugs. "We're still investigating this. The governor-warden has been taken into custody while his financials are checked, but it wouldn't be the first time someone bribed themselves into freedom. From what we can tell he's been out at for several years at least."

I growled in disgust.

"And before you ask," Izumi raises her hand. "This wasn't a university expedition, which obviously would have conducted background checks. This was a private one done in support of a Takeshi Ito."

"I've heard of that guy," Kuvira interjects. "He's the one who goes looking for aliens and all that noise right? He never actually finds anything."

Izumi smiles grimly. "Indeed, though it may be he was on to more than he realized this time. The recon ship tracked the expedition's ship to a nearby planet, and reported back that there seemed to be an enormous complex there, of uncertain origin. However, not long after that, they too went dark. We've received no word since."

I drum my fingers on my desk. "What do we know about those planets they were investigating?"

Izumi looks over her shoulder at the closed door, then turns back, her eyes steely. "It took a bit of digging through some extremely classified documents, but apparently that system was the location of a top-secret military base of the old Galactic Empire."

"Fuck," Kuvira breathes. "Those assholes drove every planetary system into abject poverty just so they could make crazy ass weapons."

"Exactly." Izumi sighs again. "At this point our best guess is that Unalaq used Ito as a front to find the old Empire weapons stashes."

My stomach drops further. "He wouldn't need that just to restore his criminal enterprises," I whisper.

Izumi's eyes are sad as she watches me put it together.

"He's coming for revenge."

She nods. "That is also our conclusion."

I have never seen her look old until this moment, but looking at her now I can see the weariness in her face, the careworn slant to her eyes. She has given her whole life in service to the United Federation and that burden weighs heavily on her.

She takes a deep breath. "As much as it pains me to do this, I'm reactivating the Fire Ferrets. I need my very best working on this, and I'm pretty sure our," she hesitates, "our _special friend_ can also be very helpful."

I nod, slowly. If Izumi is reactivating my old squadron, it means she also wants Asami, and Raava. It's the first time she's ever asked for something like this from either of them; since our crazy mission to save the world from psychotic mind controlled zombies they've been focused on improving the medical treatments for wounded soldiers, the development for which accidentally caused Raava to be "born" in the first place. This request to divert Asami's (and Raava's) research more than anything else confirms how serious Izumi feels the threat to be.

"Have any plans tonight, Admiral?"

She tilts her head at me. "Nothing that I recall. What do you have in mind?"

"Sounds like it's time for a reunion dinner at our place. No offense to the team you've got at headquarters, but Asami's got better security."

Izumi's lips quirk but she manages to suppress a smile. "Duly noted, Colonel. I'll leave it to you to make arrangements."

She stands, and Kuvira and I are instantly up and saluting. She returns with a lazy snap of her own. "Until this evening, then."

As the door closes behind her I flop back down on my chair. "Well, shit."

Kuvira smirks at me. "Look at it this way, _Avatar_ ," she says mockingly, exaggerating my callsign. "A nice, nasty mission will be good for you. You're starting to get fat."

"Just for that you get to make all the phone calls," I retort. "Asshole."

She blows kisses at me and gets up to leave.

I call out to her as she heads to the door. "Also, Asami likes my abs just fine. Just this morning she was licking her way down—"

" _LA-LA-LA I'M NOT LISTENING_!"

The door slams shut behind her and I burst out laughing. Despite the fear eating at my gut I can't help but feel a certain joy. My gaze falls on a framed picture on my desk. It's from the day I made commander of a new fighter squadron, and I'm sideways with Jinora, Opal, and Kuvira holding my legs and Iroh, Mako, and Bolin holding up my chest and arms. I run my fingers over the boys, all lost from us now — two to the perils of space and one to the mental ravages of the aftermath. The picture next to it shows Kuvira, Opal, and Jinora as well the newcomers at my investiture party for being named head of the Space Fighter Corps training battalion: Saikhan and the twins, Wing and Wei. Behind them looms Bumi, the old warrior's burly arms folded across his broad chest but his grin wide and mischievous as usual. Seated in front of them all, I'm lounging on a stool with a bottle of whiskey in one hand and on my lap, her legs crossed elegantly despite her precarious position, was my beautiful genius girlfriend Doctor Asami Sato.

"So much for our quiet retirement," I mutter as I run one thumb across her face. "Time to save the world again."


	3. Chapter 3

**[AN] Thanks for the reviews! Also, if you're reading this and you haven't read RAaVA yet, please do yourself a favor and go do so — an increasing amount of this story will be a tad confusing without the right backstory.**

 **Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

I pull open our front door to see Bumi standing there, his usual smirk firmly in place as he holds out a bottle of wine.

"For the lady of this fine establishment."

I scowl at him. "If I catch your flirting with her I'm going to make you eat your liver."

His laughter is rich and full and I slug his shoulder only half-heartedly.

"You're such a dog."

"That I am," he agrees companionably. "But all of us are in our way, I expect." He glances at me sideways. "All the more reason to cherish the exquisite manners that Doctor Sato and other non-heathens possess."

I have no rejoinder to this, but as we enter the kitchen I hand the bottle to Asami. "Here honey, a present from one of your harem."

She rolls her eyes at me but I just grin. I could never admit it out loud, but Bumi's not wrong — Asami represents loving civilization to all of us coarse, rough and tumble military types. It still catches me by surprise on a regular basis that I'm allowed to be her girlfriend but everyone, even Kuvira, treat her with a certain playful reverence. She, and her creation Raava, have become the conscience of us all.

"Oh, how lovely," she exclaims, catching sight of the label of the bottle. "Thank you, General."

Bumi winces at the now despised honorific, but he merely nods. "I remember you saying you were fond of this winery."

"I am indeed, and this is an excellent vintage," she replies warmly before stretching up to plant a quick kiss on his cheek. "It will go beautifully with our dinner."

"Finally!" Kuvira strolled into the kitchen, a bottle of beer in her hand. "Thought you'd never get here, old man."

Bumi huffed in exasperation. "I am precisely on time."

"Is that how you Special Forces types work? In the Space Fighter Corps on time is late."

"Only if drinking is involved, Lieutenant Colonel Kuvira," said Izumi wryly from the opposite side of the kitchen, unnoticed until now. "If it were a more enforced policy to be on time for everything, you'd have been dishonorably discharged years ago."

Kuvira shrugs, unrepentant. "Makes more sense to be early for drinking and late for being shot at."

Izumi blinks then also shrugs. "I suppose there are worse ways of looking at it."

—-

Dinner is a hearty stew, hot fresh bread, and an apple blueberry crumble served fresh out of the oven under lumps of deliciously melting ice cream. Asami used to freak out about inviting us all over until I finally convinced her that as we're all used to eating out of the canteen with its piles of gray vegetables and slices of mystery meat, anything remotely resembling real food was a feast, and anything too fancy was a waste on our worthless palettes. As it is the rich wood furniture and huge windows of the dining room make us all feel like a bunch of Neanderthals and we're usually good about not throwing food around.

Much.

I live here now, after all. A certain amount of tomfoolery is to be expected.

Wing and Wei fight over the last chunk of bread while Jinora leans back in her chair and pointedly unbuttons the top button of her trousers.

"Dammit Doc, once I started eating your food on a regular basis, I swear I've put on ten pounds."

Asami blushes and I inwardly coo at how adorable she is.

"Well," she says shyly, "I assure you that I have been very mindful of making sure what I cook is healthy and packed in protein to support your training regimens."

Jinora waves one hand feebly. "Does that account for the fact that I always come back for seconds, thirds and sometimes fourths because it's so damn good?"

"Fifths, I think," Opal mumbles, her own hand rubbing her stomach with a rueful expression. "And I don't know where you put it."

Wei mutters under his breath then coughs suddenly as Wei elbows him hard in the ribs.

Kuvira raises one eyebrow. "What was that, Wei?"

"No-thing," the brothers sing out before winking at Opal and leaping up from the table. "We're going to make some coffee, who's in?"

There's a general rumble of assent around the table and the twins disappear into the kitchen to play with Asami's latest toy, an elaborate coffee maker she's testing on behalf of the manufacturing arm of Sato Industries.

Since her father's death she's become the head of the whole corporation, but I badgered her unmercifully until she agreed to restructure the company so that the individual heads have more direct control of their divisions, and she can actually get a full night's sleep.

The weapons division, however, she keeps a closer eye on, having lured Captain Saikhan, our former cadet instructor and later Psycho Bitch of the Fire Ferrets squadron, away from the United Forces into civilian life. He's now the co-president and military liaison of the division, ensuring our force's needs are met and the other co-president behaves himself.

Izumi had been a little disgruntled by his defection but couldn't disagree that he was perfect for the role. Years of dealing with United Forces beaurocracy on one side and recalcitrant cadets on the other made him uniquely positioned to insert himself into that organization with aplomb, and he was now overseeing a ton of research being done into a variety of defensive technologies; Asami would rather spend the time and money of the research team inventing cool things like planetary sized shields than just building bigger and better guns.

This didn't go over well with some more hawkish members of the company, but Saikhan dealt with all the bribery attempts, as well as political and physical threats (including one drunken attempt to kill him at a company party) with ruthless efficiency. In the case of the intoxicated middle manager that tried to push him off a balcony at Sato Tower in a rage, he dangled the screaming perpetrator five floors above concrete for a full ten minutes, then nonchalantly let go as soon as he saw the safety net erected below.

The terrified shrieks made him grin.

He then turned back around and announced that the next time anybody else gave him or Asami any trouble, he wouldn't wait for the net.

Things have run smoothly ever since, and Asami made sure to give him a raise.

As if summoned by my musings, he's let into the dining room by Asami's housekeeper. He plops down into an empty chair with an grumpy expression. "Sorry I'm late. I had to fire somebody."

Asami rolls her eyes. "Do I want to know who?"

"Nobody important. An asshat supervisor on the propulsion team was caught trying to assault one of the techs." At Asami's look of fury he hastens to add, "She's fine. She was smart and screamed bloody murder. Her bench partner heard her and found her cornered." He suddenly laughs. "He didn't even have to intervene. As soon as the door opened the asshat turned to look to see who was coming in, and she took the opportunity to kick him so hard in the junk he was still in a fetal position thirty minutes later. She's probably smaller than Wee here but I don't think even Bumi would have messed with her in that moment."

Everyone at the table roars with laughter. Bumi grins and raises his glass.

"And though she may be but little, she is fierce," he quotes with satisfaction.

"I hope you give that woman a promotion and a raise," Kuvira chortles.

"I gave her his job, as a matter of fact," says Saikhan smugly. "Right in front of him."

Opal claps in appreciation. "You are the fucking best."

He shrugs. "Eventually we'll weed out all the assholes. No offense to your father, Doc, but his hiring practices left a little to be desired."

She sighs, her face sad. "The only thing he looked for was ability and ambition, I'm afraid. Collaboration and compromise were not nearly as important. It was in line with his own views after my mother died."

I reach out and gave her hand a squeeze, and decide it's time to get things going. I accept a cup of coffee from Wing and then rap my knuckles on the table a couple of times to get everyone's attention. "Welp, that guy's nutsack notwithstanding, I think we need to move on. No point in beating around the bush, but we're getting the band back together. There's some shit going down. Consider this our first mission briefing."

It's almost unnerving how quickly the room settles down, all attention focused on me.

I turn to Izumi and she places a portable holo-machine on the table. After a moment for it to boot up a couple of planets and a old refueling station come into view as a set of flickering holograms.

"This is star system Z983 and it's associated bodies. It was until recently the site of a scientific expedition, since destroyed." She walks everyone through the same information she'd given Kuvira and I earlier (sans the fact that Unalaq is my uncle), and there's a collective narrowing of eyes at the revelation that there's likely an old weapons cache coming into play.

"When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change," Bumi murmurs.

I blink. "What?"

He smiles, but there's no mirth in it. "Something General Aang used to always say. It was the discovery of the planet killer weapons program that led him to overthrow the Empire or die trying."

Izumi reaches out and rests her hand on his arm. "He was a great man."

The rest of look at each other confused, until I notice that Jinora is also watching her uncle with a sorrowful expression on her face.

Wei looks around. "What's the deal with Aang? I mean, other than being a hero—"

"I suppose you might as well know," Bumi clears his throat. "He was also my father."

You could have heard a pin drop.

We all stare at him, then turn to stare at Jinora.

She rolls her eyes. "Yes I knew, but I'm not supposed to know. I found an old photo album when I was snooping in my dad's desk one time."

"Figures," Bumi mutters. "Sentimental old fool."

Izumi sighs. "When the Alliance started to fail, Aang's family was placed into protective custody at his insistence, then provided a completely new set of identities. He knew what was coming."

"That he did," Bumi muttered. He glanced at her. "Surprised you know about it though."

She ducked her head. "Our fathers were the best of friends. When my father died, I came into possession of many of his letters and correspondences. He needed to make sure someone he trusted knew, in case your family needed help."

"Admiral Zuko," Bumi chuckled. "Now there was a tough old bastard." He squinted at Izumi. "I'd put money on you being tougher though."

She smirks. "Flatter will get you nowhere, you old pirate. Now," she looked around to me. "Colonel, will you do the next part of the briefing?"

I frown and nod as she touches the holo-machine and brings up a bust of someone I'd be happy never seeing again. "This is Unalaq, the causer of our problems. I am sorry to say that in addition to his other shitty qualities he's my father's brother. Came out into the world with a chip on his shoulder. Graduated from juvenile delinquency to full on organized crime syndicates at a relatively young age." I take a deep breath. "He's also mentally somewhat unhinged — highly intelligent, but also utterly unpredictable and absolutely ruthless. My father was instrumental in helping bring him down, but the process just about killed him." My jaw clenches. "It's why he and my mother spend most of their time offworld." I grimace. "The assassination attempts got old after a while."

Asami rubs my back. A lot of this is news to her, but despite my trepidation there's no judgement in her eyes.

"Anyway," I continue, "my parents had a fit when I told them I was coming back here to enlist, and sat me down to give me the whole story." I'll never forget _that_ conversation, but I manage a small smirk. "Backfired though — made me more determined to do some good to make up for what a douche he was."

Kuvira snorted. "As if you needed motivation to be an idiot." She leans back, swirling her glass of whiskey thoughtfully. "So, he was in prison for a long time and his organization was supposed to have been broken up. Where'd he get the funds? Paying for that kind of expedition is big coin."

Izumi nods grimly. "Something the civil authorities are still trying to figure out. Much like we discovered with General Amon and the conspirators within the United Forces, there's apparently a vein of corruption in United Planets law enforcement as well, when it comes to connections to organized crime."

I sigh and she looks at me with some sympathy.

"I'm sorry, Colonel—Korra. This can't be easy for you."

I finish off my coffee. "All the more reason to deal with it as quickly as possible."

Bumi steeples his fingers together, his face thoughtful. "Do we have any idea of what _kind_ of weapons were at this facility, assuming they are in fact still there?"

Izumi shakes her head. "As yet no, so that's the first order of business. We need a reconnaissance mission to figure out what we're up against. Then we'll have a better idea of what we need to do next."

Kuvira pokes the holo-machine back to the system map and grunts. "We'll need to be very discrete. There's not a lot out there to allow for much sneaking."

"Not every system has a handy asteroid field, Boss," Opal comments.

"Shut up, Mad," Kuvira replies absently. "Is this holo live? The positions of everything relatively accurate?"

Izumi squints. "Not live, but it's fairly recent."

Kuvira leans forward. "How do I zoom out, dammit—aha!"

The planets shrink as she backs out to get a broader view of the quadrant, and we all look for possibilities.

"Oh!" Jinora blurts out as Opal groans.

"Oh yeah, Wee," Kuvira says with satisfaction. "That'll work."

Saikhan, sitting next to her with a better view, chokes. "Tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking."

The rest of us follow his gaze as Kuvira flips the view around again, centering on a small object heading towards the Z983 system. A few more touches and a line appears, plotting a path leading fairly close (in space terms) to where we want to go.

"You got a better idea, now's the time. That thing's current trajectory gives us about," she peers at the readout at the base of the holo. "Two weeks to get ready, give or take."

Asami turns to look at me in shock. "She wants to fly in _behind a comet_?"


	4. Chapter 4

**[AN] Oh my god 'Roar - you never disappoint.**

 **:)**

 **Anyway, a little shorter than usual, but, you know, natural stopping point. Hope everyone had a pleasant holiday of your choice, and here's hoping that 2018 goes a little better than 2017 (which was sort of a shit show).**

 **Fly straight, Ferret Friends...**

* * *

The dining room has descended into chaos.

"You're insane."

"It will totally work. Avatar, tell him it will totally work."

I sigh and look over at Saikhan's incredulous expression. "I hate to say this, but it will almost certainly work."

Asami narrows her eyes at me. "Almost? And how do you know."

I shake my head and look over at the Admiral apologetically. "Sorry, ma'am, but Iroh told us this story."

Izumi glares at me then sits back against her chair with a groan. "Okay, yes, in my youth one of my squad mates bet that I couldn't land and ride a comet. If I lost I had to go out on a date with him."

Opal leans forward. "And if you won?"

Izumi bites back a smile. "He had to do a rotation of hanger guard duty naked."

Kuvira beamed. "I knew I liked you. Iroh never told us that part."

"I may have left that bit out of the family annals. In any case," she looks over at Saikhan. "I did ride a comet. However," she adds with a stern look at Kuvira. "Never within solar system. It would _not_ be possible once it warms up the tail."

I drum my fingers on the table. "Yeah, but that's easy enough — we sit quiet until it gets close enough to the star, then just peel off and the let the energy noise of the tail provide us cover. We'll have plenty of notice that it's lighting up — it's not like a comet is subtle." I ponder.

"I like it," Kuvira enthuses.

Asami sighs. "I hate this idea."

"Sorry, sweetheart." I apologize. "If it makes you feel better, the goal here is to avoid trouble."

"As if that's possible for you," she shoots back.

We pause as a large holographic figure emerges from the comm system near the door. It's vaguely female but has a rather generic appearance with few details. The voice, however, is very familiar to everyone in the room, even if they've never seen her like this before. "DOCTOR SATO, IF I MAY REQUEST YOUR PRESENCE PLEASE. I BELIEVE THEIR HAS BEEN SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT WITH THE LATEST ATTEMPT."

"Thank you, Raava. I'll join you in a moment," Asami replies.

Everyone whips around to stare at her. There's a long moment of stunned silence.

"When the holy fuck did _that_ happen?" Kuvira finally demands.

—

After leaving the crew at the table in befuddled exasperation, I follow Asami down the hall towards the guest wing of the house where Bolin has been installed as a permanent resident. Different rooms in the wing are setup differently; one is setup like a regular bedroom, another like a base barracks. A third is setup like pilot quarters on a long range troop ship. The last room is setup almost like a hotel; very boring and generic in all ways. Asami and Raava had wanted to see where he felt the most comfortable and to everyone's surprise it was the 'hotel' room that seemed to make him the most comfortable. We still don't know why.

However, as we enter the wing today I gasp as we see something I never thought I'd see again — Bolin is standing at the window of the living area, looking out over the lawn and gardens that surround our home.

"Little Mouse." I whisper.

He doesn't move, and a moment later, Raava flickers into view nearby.

"HE HAS NOT SPOKEN AS YET, COLONEL KORRA," Raava tells me quietly, the AI having learned enough about human psyche and responses to have started regulating her behavior and sound levels in eerily human ways. "HE ONLY MOVED FROM HIS CHAIR TEN POINT FOUR MINUTES AGO."

I feel a soft pressure on my elbow and look at Asami. She tilts her head towards him. "Try and talk to him."

I inch closer, slowly. I haven't seen Bolin on his feet since that horrible day back at the abandoned fuel depot. A dark frightening place a long way from here, a place where he killed one man, and almost killed Opal. A place where he had been completely terrified. At least here he doesn't have access to anything remotely harmful, but I'm scared of triggering him into a psychotic episode, anything that might cause him to retreat again.

"Bo, hey." I watch him closely. "It's me. Korra. It's Avatar."

His eyes flicker, but his face remains impassive. I look back over my shoulder to see Asami, her eyes wide, but she waves her hand quickly to keep me talking. I turn back to my old comrade.

"I've missed you, man." My voice starts to shake with repressed emotion. "We've all missed you so much." I want desperately to reach out and touch him, but I hold back. "Mad and Wee have been trying to tell jokes like you, but nobody tells jokes as badly as you do, it's painful when anyone tries. Your bad jokes are, like, fucking art."

Another flicker.

"I know we'll be in trouble if Boss tries. She's shit at anything that doesn't involve whiskey. Or guns. Can you imagine her trying to tell a joke?"

So soft I almost miss it, there's a slow exhale.

" _Sad._ "

I take a deep breath and glance over my shoulder. Asami has somehow procured her notebook and is scribbling furiously.

"Do you—" I pause, not sure where to go next. "Do you want to see everybody else? They'd be so happy to see—"

" _Dreams._ "

"You dream a lot, Lieutenant," says Asami quietly. I jump, not realize she'd joined me. Her face is wondering, and so very compassionate.

His voice is distant and still barely audible, but calm. " _Voice. In my dreams."_ His eyes close and he reaches out to one side, away from both of us. " _Raava._ "

My jaw drops as Raava appears instantly beside him. "I AM HERE, LIEUTENANT BOLIN."

" _Always here, for me._ "

"YOU ARE MY RESPONSIBILITY."

I have to lean forward, his voice has gone even quieter. "M _y friend, Raava?"_

The hologram image cocks its head, as if considering. "IF I CORRELATE THE BEHAVIORS OF THE HUMANS AROUND ME AND COMPARE THEM TO MY OWN BEHAVIORS AROUND YOU, THEN YES, LIEUTENANT. I AM ACTING IN A FRIENDLY MANNER TOWARDS YOU."

I roll my eyes but smile. Only Raava could calculate friendship.

Bolin clears his throat, and when he speaks, his voice is a little stronger, more assured. " _Good_." He still hasn't really looked at us but he seems to relax somewhat. After a moment he closes his eyes " _Sleep._ "

"COME WITH ME, LIEUTENANT." The hologram steps back. "I WILL ENDEAVOR TO ENSURE A RESTFUL EXPERIENCE."

The door to his favored hotel room closes behind him. I turn to Asami, seeing the joy on her face. She reaches forward and wipes the tears I wasn't even aware of from my cheeks.

"Oh my gods, 'Sami," I choke out before swinging her around in glee. She laughs delightedly before I hurriedly set her down. "Come on, come on!"

"What? Where are we going?" His face is adorable as she glances back at where Bolin and Raava disappeared.

I grin at her. "We have to tell the others!"

Hand in hand we race back through the house towards the dining room, laughing excitedly. Eight expectant faces turn towards us.

"If you don't tell us what's going on, we _will_ kill you," Kuvira warns as I catch my breath.

I beam at them all, too happy to rejoinder with my usual snappy comeback.

"Guys," I yell. "He's AWAKE!"

Utter pandemonium.


	5. Chapter 5

**[AN] - deep conversations from surprising sources...**

* * *

I sigh as I shove the last of our guests out the door with a promise they could come back tomorrow to see him. Bolin's resurgence had completely eclipsed anybody's objection around the upcoming mission and Kuvira had smirked triumphantly at me as she left.

Asami comes up from behind and wraps her arms around me as I stare out over the pool to the hills beyond.

"That face has deep thoughts on it, Avatar," she murmurs against my neck.

I sigh again. "Our timing is always the worst, isn't it?"

"How do you mean?"

I turn and wrap my arm around her before leading her out onto the patio where we fall onto an overstuffed lounge chair.

"Bolin just made the best progress he's made in a year, and I have to go on a mission," I grouse.

"Hmm," she agrees as she runs her fingers through my hair. "It's for the best really."

I glare at her. "What? Why?"

She smiles gently. "It's okay to be excited, love," she tells me. "But he's still got a long way to go and he's not going to get there quickly. It's best if you lot are busy in the meantime."

"You're saying we'll push him."

She nuzzles into me. "You won't _mean_ to."

I start to object, then nod glumly. "Fine, you're probably right. I'm already ready to haul him out bar hopping."

" **That would not be advisable at this juncture, Colonel Korra** ," Raava informs me. She flickers into view next to the door with a reproving expression on her face.

"Whoa," I say in surprise. "You sound different."

She hesitates only briefly, but for Raava it's a significant pause.

" **Lieutenant Bolin requested it** ," she says finally. " **Apparently my voice is sufficiently different from what he was used to hearing in his Traumatic Brain Injury protocols while unconscious that it was disconcerting. I have modulated it accordingly, and he reports a much improved experience**."

Asami sits up slightly. "What was your basis for modulation?"

Raava hesitates again, and Asami and I exchange a surprised glance.

" **This is difficult for me to describe** ," Raava admits finally, her whole visage uncomfortable, if a hologram could be described in such a way. " **We… winged it, as I have heard Colonel Korra and Lieutenant Colonel Kuvira mention repeatedly.** "

I burst out laughing. "I've been a good influence on you, Raava! I knew you were a Fire Ferret at heart!"

Asami snorts. "I hope she doesn't abandon her scientific rigor, given how completely you two are unable to conform to anything remotely like it."

" **I assure you, Doctor Sato,** " Raava assures her, " **The process of 'winging it' is extremely uncomfortable for me. However** ," she continues with notable reluctance, " **I have admittedly observed many unanticipated benefits from more random experimentation.** " The hologram suddenly raised her head, as if listening. " **Excuse me, I need to attend to Lieutenant Bolin.** " She flickered and vanished.

I blink, then drawl, "That was weird. Was that weird? You thought that was weird right?"

Asami's fingers tap against my arm, her gaze thoughtful. "Unusual," she agrees eventually, "but perhaps not so unexpected." She pushes against me until I lay back and she settles happily into my arms. "She's been in a role of a long term caregiver, absorbing quite a lot of information about the human psyche in the process. She does learn voraciously, if you recall."

I hum as I cuddle her more firmly against me. "So now she's learning how to be more human?"

"Hmm, perhaps. Given that she's the only one of her kind—"

"That we know of," I interject sourly.

She elbows me gently. "Don't interrupt, but yes, Colonel, _that we know of_. My point is it's hard to know how her intellectual and emotional development will proceed. We're in uncharted space here."

"Look at you with the Corps jokes," I chuckle. "I'm a bad influence on you."

She turns and with a devilish look she rakes her teeth down my neck. I shudder with a hissing inhale.

"I don't know," she murmurs, her breath hot on my skin. "I think some of your influences have been _quite_ beneficial for me."

I groan at another nip, this one to my collarbone. I run my hands down her sides and with a grunt lift her onto my hips, so that she's now straddling the tops of my thighs. She raises one eyebrow at me, her lips pursed in an adorable smirk.

"What devilish things are you thinking of, Avatar," she husked with a subtle rock of her lips.

"Terrible, horrible, _vile_ things," I growl in reply as I sit up, pulling her flush against me as I lift us off the chair. She wraps her legs tightly around me, her arms draped around my shoulders. Dark eyes twinkle merrily at me as I carry her towards our bedroom. "Things that will have you screaming for mercy."

"Mmm," her lips caress my ear and nearly send me careening into a wall. "I can't wait."

—-

"Coffee, Colonel?"

I grunt in thanks as my orderly presses a steaming cup into my hands. The recruits are out on a training run so the hanger is largely empty. He then hands me the instructor evaluations from the preview week that I have to review and sign. I usually make Boss help me with this, but, "Hey, Chen? Have you seen the XO around yet?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Kuvira is the briefing room." He hesitates briefly, then adds, "She had left instructions not to be disturbed, but—"

I nod absently. The poor lad has relaxed a bit since he first received orders to act as the Flight School's office administrator, but I know she still makes him nervous.

Just how she likes it.

Coffee firmly in hand, I wander into the briefing room to find the holomap set to the Zeta quadrant, with various way points and flight paths highlighted in glowing purple. The rest of the room is dark and still.

Kuvira is perched in a gargoyle-like squat on the table, in the midst of the holo. The light beams play across her, and unusually her face is still and thoughtful.

"It's been a while since we've been out-system," I comment.

Her eyes flicker in acknowledgement, but she doesn't respond. I plop down in one of the chairs and prop my feet on the table top, studying some of the routes she's choosing. After a moment she slides off the table and sits down across from me, picking up her own cup of coffee and we sit quietly while Zeta quadrant rolls slowly around above us.

She finally growls her irritation. "Makes sense that they chose these godforsaken systems to put secret bases on. It's going to be fucking _hard_ to sneak in there."

I look at her more closely. "You want to tag out of this, Boss?"

She immediately shakes her head. "No way you're going out there without me, and I know you wanna go."

"You know why," I whisper.

She meets my gaze. "Yeah, I do. The thought of sending Mad and Wee makes you want to throw up."

"Something like that." I take a long swallow of my coffee. "I wonder how Izumi did it. Make the jump to flag officer I mean."

"Iroh asked her to," Kuvira shrugs.

I stare at her.

"We got drunk one night and somehow we ended up talking about her. When he got his wings, he said he needed somebody he could trust calling the missions."

I swallow hard against the sudden tightness in my throat. "Yeah, I could see that."

"That will be you," she adds, her face serious. "Pretty sure when she retires she's gonna make you take her job. We'll still need somebody we can trust calling those missions."

"Fuck that," I snark roughly, but my heart feels the rightness of it and Kuvira knows it too, from her smirk.

"Well, okay, maybe," I finally admit. "But in the meantime, you and I have a evil fucker with doomsday weapons to sneak up on."

"Damn right we do."

* * *

 **[AN] - For those not in the know, "XO" is short for "Executive Officer", or second in command. Also, for those who were being driven nuts by Raava speaking in ALL CAPS, like I said there was a reason, and hopefully know it's more palatable. Certainly it's now more palatable for Bolin... :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**[AN] For those who have been hankering for a little more excitement...**

 **:)**

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

I growl. "Really, Boss? I will remind me you this was your damn idea."

"I must have been outta my mind."

I glance over at her fighter, perched next to mine on the current cold and dark comet that was meandering its way into the Z983 start system. Our approach toward the comet had been tense as we tried to carefully keep it between ourselves and any sensors that might have been looking our way.

So far we hadn't been shot at, but with our luck it was probably only a matter of time.

"Scanners still clear." I comment. "If somebody's still out here, they're being awfully quiet."

Kuvira groans. "I was not built for this waiting shit."

"Tough. You volunteered," I remind her. "And this won't be for shit if we don't get back with any info."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

I pretend not to notice she's flipping me off through the cockpit glass.

I adjust stiff muscles and keep watching the long range sensors, looking for any signs of life or mysterious space weapons. Or a supply ship.

Gods, I could use a beer.

"Oh hey, look at that," Kuvira observed drily. I glanced out in front of us and saw the telltale sign that the gas inside the comet was heating up in the solar radiation; a small dust tail was just beginning to form.

"How much time do you think we have?" I wonder. "Probably not long."

She grunts. "Don't care, let's get the fuck out of here before I kill myself."

With one last glance at the scanners, I fire up my engines. "Okay, remember the plan. Head for the first planet but keep your sensors focused on mystery planet. I'll watch in front of us. Let's see if anybody twitches."

"Finally," she says with relief. "I was about to die from boredom."

"Drama queen."

We bid the comet goodbye and gunned it for the expedition site. Our hope was that appearing so suddenly so far into the system would protect us from overly an prepared hostile reception but as we flew closer to our target without any sort of sensor hits I started to wonder if Unalaq had cleared out already.

"I got a quiet contact," Kuvira calls out. "Passive hit from the mystery site. Looks like a broadcast."

"Copy that." My gaze is fixed on my forward scanners. "Still quiet at the target."

We fly closer, and the expanse of land under a dusty atmosphere grows clearly in detail.

"Any life signs?"

I squint at the readings. "Not a one. Let's sling shot around the back and head to the other target."

"Sounds good to me. Going in hot is my favorite approach."

We slid closer to the planet, letting the gravity well of the planet help accelerate us without having to flare our engines, the so called 'sling shot' affect. Then with a blare of klaxons my alarms go off.

"You were saying about passive hits?" I shout in irritation.

"Maybe that was foreplay," she snarks. "I've got one contact, incoming fast."

"Roger that. Let's split this party up, heading topside."

"Hitting the basement."

We soar apart to see what our incoming does. Unfortunately it follows Boss; I'd expected it to follow me as I had been slightly in front.

"Looks like I'm prettier, Avatar,"

I snort. "Shut up, Boss. Swing around so I can come in behind whatever it is."

"Copy that, taking a shimmy to the left."

"Smart ass."

Kuvira peels wide, and after a moment our contact changed course to follow her. My sensors have finally got a good enough look at it and I find myself staring at essentially a big tube in space. There are a couple of sensor arrays on each end, but other than that it's nothing but smooth metal a little bigger than our fighters.

"Avatar," she says after a moment. "You getting any life signs from that thing?"

I stare at my screens with growing confusion. "Negative, Boss. What the hell is it? I've never seen anything like it."

"Beats the fuck out of me," she mutters. "It's trying to get a radar lock on me though."

I wrench my stick around. "Keep doing your evasive, I'm gonna try something." With a whoop I go full throttle and race my fighter in a wide loop to come in around our as yet unidentified hostile and my radar pings away as it acquires a lock. Nothing happens. Whatever it is just keeps slowly trying to follow Kuvira around space. "Boss, not only are there no life signs, I don't think it's got a remote pilot. I've got lock and it didn't change course."

She laughs. "If this is an example of that so-called doomsday shit Izumi is worried about I think we're good." I see a distant flare as she throws her throttle, speeding up. No change in speed from her pursuer. "Come on Avatar, blow this thing and let's go check out planet-side."

"Copy that, I'm getting bored." I thumb my missile controls and fire two off. "Birds away."

"Fly little birdies," she jokes. "Still no sign it's doing anything but try to follow me."

"Getting close, keep your speed up, Boss. Impact in three… two… one…"

What happens next is beyond imagining. A miniature sun blooms in front of me as the tube disintegrates in a _massive_ explosion. "Oh shit, Boss…" I warn, and then I'm thrown back against my seat as a the first shock wave hits my fighter.

"What the holy fuck," I dimly hear Kuvira cry over the radio. "Avatar, come in!"

New klaxons fire as my fighter shakes violently. My canopy glows as the rapidly expanding explosion engulfs me. I grit my teeth as I fight blackout; my body is being flung through incredible G-forces as my fighter tumbles out of control through space.

"—do you copy!"

I can hear Kuvira's voice getting more frantic but I can do no more than grunt painfully. I desperately want to fire my thrusters to take me out of my spin, but can't until I know a safe heading. My human arm is pinned but inch by inch my prosthetic arm muscles force my hand onto my stick. By feel alone I struggle with the controls, willing my poor ship into some semblance of control.

"Shit! Watch your tail, Avatar!"

Instantly I slam full throttle counting that information enough for direction, and I get thrown around again for my trouble. Under the mighty force of my engines the spin eventually stops and I blearily lift my head. My ship shudders as another shock wave envelops it, but this time it carries me forward and my fighter surfs the wave for a few terrifying seconds.

"Goddamn it Avatar, do you read me!" Kuvira demands again.

I sigh and flip my face shield up. "Read you loud, Boss." I can hear her relief.

"Oh thank fuck," she growls. "If I had to go back without you the Doc would torture me to death."

I rub my face with one gloved hand. When I pull it away I blink in surprise. The material is covered with blood. "Looks like I got a nose bleed in all the excitement."

She swears again. "You're bleeding? You okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. Fucking awful headache though."

"Okay, well, fuck planet-side. We're going home, almost to you." She pauses. "Can you fly?"

I bristle instantly. "Can outfly your scrawny ass any time, Boss!"

"Hey, just asking," I can hear her smirk. "Only one of you engines is dangling by a bolt and the other one is sparking like it's on fire."

"Son of a bitch," I sigh.


	7. Chapter 7

**[AN] Totally loving the crazy mad and/or thoughtful reviews. Here's more content for your grist...**

 **:)**

* * *

I'm only vaguely conscious when I hear the radio come to life.

"Incoming ship, this is United Forces command. You are approaching Terran airspace. Please identify."

"Oh for fuck's sake," Kuvira growls tiredly before she flipped on her comm, "This is what's left of Foxtrot niner three five, Command. On approach, requesting clearance to land."

There's a crackling pause, then a muffled curse, then a new, familiar voice comes on the comm. "You're missing a ship, niner three five, not to mention your ID signal."

"Copy that, Command. Will I be forgiven if I report that I am not, repeat, not missing a pilot and my ship, apparently including my signal box, was damaged?"

There's a relieved grunt by Admiral Izumi. "Tell Avatar I'm taking the cost of her fighter out of her next paycheck."

I would roll my eyes at that, but I'm too beat to respond. Kuvira hasn't said anything, but I know she's been worried about me ever since she hauled me out of my dead fighter and somehow wiggled me into her jump chair. This is confirmed with her reply.

"You're a peach, Admiral. If you can forgive her long enough, could you have a medic team meet us at the landing pads and maybe make a call to the Doc?"

I hear muffled orders being given, then she's back. "This was supposed to be a re-con mission, you idiots. Medic team en route."

"You know us," Kuvira drawls, but I've known her a long time and despite my general state of fuzzy brain I can tell she's still tense. "Always looking to make things exciting."

"I'm not excited, Lieutenant Colonel," Izumi says briskly. "I'm annoyed. See you planet-side. Command out."

"Copy and out," Kuvira mutters as she clicks the comm off. "Hey, Avatar, almost home. You with me back there?"

I struggle to form words. "Hear—you loud— Boss," I finally manage. "Tired."

"Stay with me, now, Avatar," she growls. "Almost home."

"Copy—" I murmur, but another few breaths finds darkness overtaking me.

—

I awake to the sound of my girlfriend's voice.

"—adjust the IV fluid, as well."

"Yes, doctor." There's a few moments of rustling near my head, then a sound of retreating footsteps.

I blink, then stare at the ceiling for a long, blurry moment. My head still hurts and my prosthetic eye seems to be offline. A wave of vertigo washes over me, and I groan.

Instantly Asami's at my side. "Welcome back, Colonel. Let me have a look at you."Asami's tone is brutally professional. Her glasses are on but there's a clipboard in one hand, and a pen in the other. She doesn't let go of either.

I wince. I think I'm in trouble.

"Your prosthetic eye received some damage, in case you noticed the lack of binary vision. It has been repaired." She peers over the chart and frowns at me. "You also needed three new connector bolts in your shoulder." She turns to hang the clipboard back on the end of my bed. "Doctor Moon will be assisting you."

Yep, definitely in trouble.

"Asami," I start to whine.

She's already turning away, but I can now hear the catch in her voice. "If you'll excuse me, Colonel, I have other patients."

My heart lurches in my chest. "Baby," I pause, now realizing the depth of her emotion. "I'm so sorry for scaring you."

She doesn't turn around but she does stop, one hand on the door. There's a long pause, then she says. "I— just give me a little time."

"As long as you need, Doc. I'm not going anywhere," I throw a little emphasis on that last comment, and she nods jerkily.

"I know," she takes one more step, then hesitates. "I'm not either."

"Oh hello, Doctor Sato!" I hear Doctor Moon arrive. "Is she ready for me?"

Asami takes the opportunity to escape. "All yours, Doctor Moon."

I sigh. My first mission off planet in two years and I come back battered and broken.

Again.

I am the world's worst girlfriend.

Doctor Moon bustles around me, placing my prosthetic eye on the tray next to me. With no eyelid to soften it, I shiver under the blank gray stare.

"For fuck's sake, Doc," I complain. "I feel like I'm staring at myself."

She clucks disapprovingly at me but turns the eye around in deference to my apparently delicate sensibilities. I'm not sure this is an improvement, because now I'm looking at a fairly complicated looking connection port that's to plug into my eye socket . I decide the ceiling is a better view for the time being.

There's a soft tug at my shoulder as Doctor Moon messes with one of my access ports. I'm fine until I hear the whir of a motor and contemplate the odd uniqueness of somebody doing a shoulder repair with power tools.

"Oh dear," she clucks disapprovingly. "Don't move, Colonel, I think you need a new cable in addition to the bolts."

"Um, okay?"

The cart she's brought in look like it would be more at home in our hanger than in a hospital, a thought reinforced when she starts pulling open small drawers revealing no end of nuts, bolts, wires, and other sundry parts that hold a good chunk of my body together. She makes her selection, then drops them in the sonic sanitizer as she pulls on a new set of gloves.

The sanitizer beeps and she pulls out her gear and sets to work. Five very odd minutes later she closes my hatch with a satisfied sigh. It's always weird to know someone is wrenching inside of my body.

"Alright, and now for your eye."

There's a disconcerting snick and pressure on my face as she seats the prosthetic eye into its base. She has a cable plugged into my implant, a piece of extremely complicated electronics that's attached to the side of my head. The other end of the cable is plugged into a R.A.a.V.A. unit and Dr. Moon stares at the attached monitor intently.

"Alright, your visual system is coming online… now."

My vision flickers strangely; there's a burst of static as my eye comes back to life, shoving data through an electronic port onto my optic nerve. Doctor Moon busies herself conducting a series of tests to make sure everything is functioning correctly, and I obediently move my arm and read letters on the wall until she's satisfied.

In the silence she leaves behind I sit back in the bed with a sigh, thinking I could really use someone to talk to. Then I chuckle and shake my head at my forgetfulness.

"Raava?" I ask into the empty room.

As expected the AI responds almost immediately. I'm a member of her network, after all. " **Yes, Colonel Korra**."

"How's Little Mouse doing?"

" **Lieutenant Bolin is currently taking a short walk around the house**."

I beam. "Awesome. Has he told you a bad joke yet?"

There's a pause. " **I am uncertain. He did attempt to make an illogical correlation between a ship and a female humanoid that was implausible at best**."

I roll my eyes. Bolin's bad jokes are the stuff of legend in the Space Fighter Corps, but no one has heard him make one in years. Not since the patrol mission that took the rest of his team. I feel the sting of tears in my one biological eye even as I grin. "Was the punchline that it's easier to be in a ship than a woman?"

" **As a matter of fact it was**." There's another pause. " **I have been running a linguistic analysis of this statement for some time, but have yet to determine a reasonable explanation**."

"Let's just say it involves a form of sexual innuendo."

To my surprise and amusement, the AI actually sighs, a strange digital sound. " **I suspect I will never appreciate that mode of communication**."

I chuckle. "You're probably better off." I resettle myself on the pillow, and decide to take advantage of her near omniscience with the hospital's security network. "Um. Can you see where Asami is?"

There's another pause as the AI has a look around; her connection to the hospitals security system allows her to see pretty much everywhere. The eventual answer surprises me.

" **Doctor Sato is currently standing outside the door to this room, Colonel Korra**."

I hurriedly sit upright. After a moment the door opens slowly, revealing the slightly puffy face of my girlfriend. I feel a lurch in my chest at her tear streaked cheeks.

"Asami," I begin, but she shakes her head and steps quickly across the room to my bed before crushing her lips against mine.

"I'm sorry," she breathes, nuzzling as close as she can. "I shouldn't have reacted like that."

I push her back slightly so I can see her face. "Honey, you're allowed to react." I want her to see the sincerity in my face. "It's okay for you to feel whatever you feel, okay?" I swallow hard. "I just know, it's hard to have a relationship with some one like…" I trail off then force myself to continue "If you need more time—"

She shakes her head and silences me again with a searing kiss. "No, not leaving. Not allowed. For either of us."

I feel myself sag with relief. "Okay."

"Okay."

I rub my hand against her leg, taking comfort as much as giving it. She leans against me with a contented hum. "Sweetheart?"

"Hrm?"

"I think there's a real shit show coming at us."

She laces her fingers with my other hand, and absently starts popping the access port on my prosthetic wrist open and shut, over and over. It drives me nuts, but she always does it when she's thinking hard, so I grit my teeth and let her finish her thought.

"My father was fascinated by the idea of the old Empire weapons development programs." She makes a slight face as she says this; I know her memories of her father are complicated, and this can't be a good association. "I think I need to go digging through his old records. There might be something there."

I frown. "Can't you have Raava help you with that?"

"There's really not enough data for her to be able to know what she's looking for, her recent experiments with intuition aside," she replies absently. "Besides, most of it's still paper, so she can't really help anyway."

"We're gonna have to get her a body so she can help," I joke.

Asami looks at me, her face growing thoughtful. "I'll have to think about that."

I feel my jaw drop. "I was kidding!"

She winks. "I wasn't."


	8. Chapter 8

"Welcome back, Colonel!" calls Ying, Asami's housekeeper. A kind woman, she had been housekeeper to Asami's mother, Yasuko, and had helped raise Asami in the painful years after the bombardment that took Yasuko's life and her father's attention. She also, to my hidden amusement, was not shy about expressing her opinions if she thinks Asami needed food or sleep.

"Great to see you Ying!" I reply happily before sweeping the smaller woman into a hug and planting a loud kiss one one cheek.

Ying blushes and swats me on the shoulder. "You big oaf," she sniffs. "Behave or you won't get your favorite noodles and dumplings for dinner tonight."

My mouth instantly waters as Asami chuckles behind her. My doctor hangs up her coat as she smiles ruefully at her housekeeper. "You spoil her, Ying."

Ying shrugs and turns away. "I spoil the two of you, and you spoil each other. Thus we have peace in this house."

As we enter the kitchen, I do a double take as I se Bolin sitting quietly at the kitchen table, the blue glow of Raava 'sitting' next to him. A bowl of fruit sits in front of them, and Raava quietly talks to him as he eats. His hand movements are slow and uncertain, and his face still bears an expression very unlike his previous perpetual grin, but rather reserved, and a little wary.

Ying shooes us towards the table, following them over a moment later with two steaming bowls.

I accept mine gratefully and look over at Bolin. "How you feeling, Bo?" I say it softly, without any real expectation of a response, but he surprises my by lifting his head and actually looking at me.

"I'm—," he pauses, thinking. "I'm good." His voice is soft but clear. He glances quickly at Raava, still sitting next to him.

" **Your vital signs are all within standard healthy parameters** ," she assures him. " **From a physical standpoint you are in good health**."

He frowns, the nods and visibly relaxes. "Ok."

" **Based on ongoing monitoring of your sleep cycle and brainwave patterns, your mental health has improved thirty-nine point two percent in the past week, so I would consider that good as well**."

I suppress a laugh with a coughing fit as Asami kicks me in the ankle. "I, uh, glad to hear it!"

Bolin pushed back the bowl of fruit. "I think," his forehead scrunched, and he looked shyly at Ying. The woman paused from wiping down the counters. "Can I have some noodles?"

She throws up her hands in triumph. "I knew you couldn't resist my cooking!" she declares happily.

I frown. "Wait, you mean you didn't make these for me?" I then bite back happy tears when I hear a low raspy chuckle.

Bolin's grin is faint, but there. "I was always better at getting the girls, Cap."

It doesn't surprise me that Bolin isn't aware of my new rank, or probably even how long he's been out of commission. Besides, just seeing a hint of Little Mouse peeking through the long darkness of his brain injury is better than ten bowls of noodles and a whole case of whiskey.

Asami nudges me under the table again, and makes a subtle gesture. I follow her gaze and see Raava, still next to Bolin. The AI's hologram has the beginnings of a smile on her normally placid face.

—-

I let myself into my old base apartment. Opal had taken it over after I moved in with Asami, but we had an agreement that I could keep using the smaller, spare bedroom for pilot gear and other 'work' crap I need to keep close by. Asami's estate is on the outskirts of the city, too far for side trips in the event of a real emergency.

It's quiet in the apartment, but that wasn't surprising. I know Opal tends to sleep in when she isn't on duty, and get up at the crack of dawn if she is. I move quietly in case it was the former.

As I walk past the master bedroom on my way to my gear, I pause. Two entirely nude forms lie entangled on a very rumpled bed. Clothes are tossed haphazardly aside, as if with extreme impatience. I grin, taking in the scene. A series of scratches runs down Jinora's back, and I can see a wicked set of hickeys across Opal's chest.

I lean against the doorjamb. "Well, fuck," I drawl loudly. "I owe Asami fifty for this."

Jinora raises her head blearily and sees me standing there with a smirk. "Shit."

Opal groans and waves a middle finger in my general direction. "Do you _mind,_ Avatar," she growls irritably. "We've gotten like two hours of sleep."

I chortle. "After an extremely intense workout, by the looks of it."

"I'm too tired to argue with you," she fumbles for the closest sheet and rolls over, pulling Jinora into the curve of her body. "And go away, we're off today."

I ignore this and step over a bra and somebody's underwear before sitting on their bed. "So, how long has this been going on?"

Jinora looks up from where she's encircled in Opal's grip. "Why? Is it bad?"

"Oh, hell no!" I assure her. "This is awesome, and we've all been wondering. And speaking of that, there's some real money on this. I need dates."

"For fuck's sake, really?" Opal rasps. "Not long, okay? Couple of months."

I pump my fist. "Sweet! That means Boss also owes Asami fifty." I sigh dramatically. "She was going to be intolerable if she was actually right about you two. She swore it's been going on for years."

"Happy For Doc," Opal rumbles. "That's great. Now get out."

"What she said," Jinora added sleepily, snuggling back down.

I laugh out loud. "Sorry, Bitches. No more day off. We have a mission briefing today," I reply smugly, but at their collective sighs of despair take pity on them. "But it's not until this afternoon, so you can easily fit in at least four more screaming orgasms."

I duck as a t-shirt comes flying at me.

"Get _OUT_ , Korra!"


	9. Chapter 9

The main mission briefing room at headquarters is emptier than usual, speaking to Izumi's continued desire to keep things quiet until we know more about what the hell is going on. Normally dozen's of officers and adjutant's would be present, now there's just the Ferrets, Asami, Izumi and her personal adjutant, and one Major Ichihiro Ikeda, the head of United Forces Research Science division.

He and Asami saw each other as we walked in and immediately jumped into each other's arms, squealing. Given Ikeda's no-nonsense reputation we all stare at him, nonplussed.

The Bitches look over at me and I shrug. "I guess it's a nerd thing."

"— so great to see you —"

"— how's your brother —"

"— did you hear about —"

I wander over and clear my throat. Asami turned to me, a _huge_ smile on her face. "Honey! I had no idea Itchy would be here!"

I smirk when I see him wince and the Bitches look at each other with barely suppressed glee.

"We were students together at university," Asami continues, blissfully unaware of his discomfort. "I knew he'd enlisted, but we lost track of each other years ago."

"Well," he corrects with a smile. "It was hard to lose track of _you_ , Doctor Miss-Future-Industries-Research. I've been very impressed to see what you've been doing these past few years."

Asami ducks her head with a small smile. "It's been a gratifying career."

There's a brisk sound of knuckes on a solid wood table. We turn to see Izumi waving us towards our seats.

"You look like hell, Viper," Kuvira drawls as we all set. "You need to sleep more."

Izumi laughs while the rest of us wince; the Sergeant Major in particular is gritting his teeth. "Subtle as a brick, as always, _Boss_ , and sadly you're not wrong." Her face sets into something more serious, further emphasizing the dark circles under her eyes and the deepening lines in her face. "However, sleep must wait a bit more. I've been sequestered with Major Ikeda and some of his more talented scientists, and with the additional information Doctor Sato sent over, we now have a pretty good idea of what we're up against." She sighs. "It's not good news."

I lean forward. I hadn't had a chance to review Asami's materials due to the school's training schedule consuming my and Boss' attention the past week, so was eager to get more information.

At Izumi's nod, Ikeda powered up the holographic gear. My stomach sank at the sight of a familiar-looking cylinder.

"This," Ikeda intoned, "is the IDW6 Defense Mine. We are fairly confident this is the device Lieutenant Colonel Kuvira and Colonel Korra encountered in the Zeta quadrant."

I look over at Kuvira and she nods.

"Yeah, that looks fucking familiar," she growls.

Ikeda presses another button and the device's schematics appear. "It was created primarily as a security system for uninhabited planets with a high amount of natural resources. It will home in on any incoming ship that enters within a light-second of its sensors and self-destruct in an attempt to disable or destroy it. According to the records we found there would usually be a dozen or so deployed around a target planet, making it virtually impossible to approach with an unauthorized vessel. The types of explosives used are a variation of azidoazide azides"

I hear a shocked inhale next to me as Asami leans forward.

Ikeda nods at her recognition. "It's the most explosive non-radioactive substance ever discovered. The amounts necessary to cause catastrophic damage are minimal, but the devices used to contain them are huge due to the complexity of keeping the explosive material in stasis."

"We only saw one," I comment. "It wasn't particularly hard to avoid."

"With modern space craft, one would be easy to avoid" Ikeda agrees. "However I suspect that either our suspect didn't realize the speed limit, nor need for additional devices. Or perhaps he was merely hoping to take out any initial investigation, giving him more time to make his exit.

I scowl. "Do we think that's all that was out there?" My scowl deepens as I seem him exchange a glance with the Admiral.

"Unfortunately, Colonel," he says reluctantly, "we have some evidence that points to additional offensive weapons also being stored."

The back of my neck prickles. "Like what?"

The holographic display flickers into a new image. This one is much more menacing. "The IAW10 Bombardment System." He clears his throat before continuing. "Designed as first strike weapon, an initial incoming missile splits into dozens of individual warheads that spread the damage over a square mile or more of surface area." The holographic demonstrates the mechanics, and the sight of the small seeds of death racing towards the surface makes me fell ill. "The main storage depots of this particular weapon resided in Fire System territory and before the supplies were depleted were used extensively against the other planetary systems, including the United Federation of Planets."

" _Fuck_ ," I breathe.

Ikeda looks even more somber. "It was this device, Doctor Sato, that was responsible for the Capitol Bombing that took your mother."

Anger, sorrow, and rage all fight for primacy in Asami's expression, and I grip her hand tightly.

" _Love you_ ," I mouth silently.

She stares back at me, eyes bright with unshod tears, but she nods and gives me a tremulous smile.

"From what we were able to extrapolate from we could find on the Zeta Quadrant depot, there are at least one hundred of the bombardment devices, and perhaps three dozen of the mines."

"Mother _fucker_ ," Kuvira swears, echoed by the other Bitches. Even Saikhan, out of uniform for several years, shows the same twitching of hands that indicates a need to scream a fighter into battle, ready to reign death on those that would attack us.

I glance back at Izumi. If anything, her face is even more pale and drawn. "This is your mission, my Fire Ferrets," she says quietly but firmly, her gaze taking us all in turn. "Find them. Find the head of this travesty and destroy them and anyone else involved. A full frontal assault would likely fail — against such wanton destructive capability an attacking fleet will be at a disadvantage."

"Too many targets," Kuvira mutters. "Would be like throwing a bomb in a pond."

Izumi nods and her shoulders slump. "Most of our forces will have to be focused on strengthening our defenses of the Terran home planet as well as our allied systems. She looks at each of us in turn. "If any of us fail, it could well be the end of us all."

—

I find Asami in her workshop. Papers are scattered across the scarred wood in front of her, and several tiny models sit perched in their midst, including the familiar, innocuous-seeming cylinder that had caused Kuvira and I so much trouble. I flick it over disdainfully with my pinky finger, just because.

She glances up at me, her verdant eyes dull with pain and fatigue. My arms open automatically and she falls into them with a shudder.

"Baby, it's late." I murmur. "Come to bed."

She stiffens and tries to pull away, but I merely pull her more tightly against me, breathing in the sweet smell of her hair. A choked sob bursts from her chest.

"I'm so scared," she whispers. "I can't lose you."

"You're not gonna," I promise, ignoring the fact that it's a promise that can't always be kept. "I'd fly through Hell itself to come back to you." I nuzzle into her neck. "But I'm not even gonna need to do that because between you and Raava, we've got more brains than the entire Galactic empire and _certainly_ more than my dickhead of an uncle."

She's shaking in my arms. "What if it's not enough?" My heart breaks at the defeat in her voice.

I shake my head and slide my arms under her, lifting her bridal style. "It will be." Together we make our way to the back of the house.

She rests her head against mine, now so quiet as to almost be inaudible. "I love you."

I shoulder my way into our bedroom and lay us both down on the big bed. After a moment's fumble I manage to pull a blanket over us — a temporary barrier against the horror of that will face us all too soon. We hold each other as close as we physically can.

"I love you so damn much, Doctor Asami Sato." I say firmly. "And we _will_ make it through this. I have complete faith in this fact."

She's silent and still for a long moment, then I feel her nod against my chest. "Okay." Her hand slides under my shirt, coming to rest right below my ribcage.

I can tell it's a move made for comfort rather than desire so I stay still, simply running my fingers up and down her back.

After a long moment I hear her mutter, and lean a little closer to hear.

" _We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. Neither the sudden shock of battle nor the long-drawn trials of vigilance and exertion will wear us down._ "

I blink. It's familiar…

She chuckles. "I can hear your brain turning. It's a quote from General Aang, allegedly given to his troops before the final battle that overthrew the old Imperial Court. It seemed apt."

"I fell asleep a lot during history class," I say with a shrug.

"I'm _so_ shocked to hear this," she replies dryly.

"Hush, you."

She squeezes me in response. Soon the warmth of our cocoon lulls us to a peaceful sleep, and my last thought before succumbing to my well-needed slumber is a fervent hope that it's not the last time we can hold each other like this.

* * *

 **[AN] The quote attributed to Aang was in our mundane universe actually uttered by Sir Winston Churchill. Despite the fact that he was an unrepentant racist, colonialist, and generally shitty sort of person, he was fairly outstanding as Prime Minister of Britain during WWII. It's arguable on whether the Allies could have won without him. I guess the moral is "people are complicated"...**


	10. Chapter 10

**[AN] I am SO sorry on how long it took to get this chapter out — I had such a case of writer's block on top of completely nuts schedule due to my new job. Anyway, I spent a couple of hours rethinking the direction of this story (and flipping through some new source material to help guide my thoughts) and I think I've got a better path moving forward.**

 **(And CrackedShot and 'Roar in particular, look forward to your thoughts as always, good or bad...)**

 **:)**

* * *

I stumble into the kitchen, a restless night's sleep leaving me less than alert, then jerk to a stop at the sight of Ying, her face showing shock. I follow her gaze to see Bolin standing at the stove, his movements a little slow but sure as he stirred some eggs. An unfamiliar device was affixed to his head, one end clearly hooked into a R.A.a.V.A. port just below his ear, the other a flat metal strip connected to a pair of what appeared to be slim googles covering both eyes.

"What—" I begin, uncertain.

Ying turns at the sound of my voice. "Good morning, Colonel," she says quietly.

"How long has he been here?"

Ying shrugged irritably. "I came in ten minutes ago to start breakfast and he shooed me away!"

"And yet he's not dead," Asami murmurs as she joins us. Her hair is pulled back into a pony tail and her eyes are narrowed as she stares at Bolin's new hardware.

"What is that thing anyway? You didn't tell me you were trying something out."

She glances at me and I flinch at her expression. She is not happy about something.

"Raava!"

The hologram flickers into existence near the kitchen door. " **Yes, Doctor Sato**?"

Asami's face hardens into a scowl. "What is he wearing?" she demands of the AI.

I blink in surprise.

At the sound of her raised voice, Bolin turns around, a faint smile on his face. "I made—" he glances back at the pan. "Breakfast! I made breakfast." He hesitates, then touches his goggles with one hand. He pauses for a moment, then nods his head. "I think—," he looks around then lights up when he spies some bread on the counter. "Toast! We need toast."

At this Ying springs to action. "I help you!" she bellows. "Don't let the eggs burn!" She hurries over to assist Bolin as Asami stalks over to the hologram. "Raava, where in the hell did that hardware come from?"

I have never heard her this pissed and I watch with no small amount of trepidation.

" **You have been focused on researching the archives** ," the AI replies calmly, unruffled in the face of Asami's anger. " **After our conversations several weeks ago regarding more aggressive tactics I went ahead and instructed the research facility make me several prototypes. The version I evaluated to have the most likely chance of success is the one he is currently usin** g."

"You can't use experimental hardware on a patient without supervision and extensive review!"

The AI frowns and something in my gut lurches to see it. " **Lieutenant Bolin is my patient, Doctor Sato, and I will do what I must to ensure to his well being.** "

Bolin jumps and turns from where he had been conferring with Ying, his face clearly worried. "Hey Raava, is everything okay?"

The AI's face softens. " **Yes, Lieutenant Bolin, everything is operating well with normal paramaters**."

Apparently satisfied he turns back to Ying and his breakfast efforts. "We'll be ready to eat in five!"

"Those conversations were around theoretical neurological interactions!" Asami hisses out of the side of her mouth, though clearly more aware of Bolin listening in as she lowers her voice. "Nothing remotely close to ready for an actual human trial."

There's a long pause as Raava's hologram goes very still. Ying is now helping Bolin plate his eggs and my gaze keeps flickering between the two.

" **Nothing else was working, Doctor Sato,** " Raava says finally, her synthesized voice sounding particularly flat. " **Based on my observations of your behavior with Colonel Korra as well as many of the memoirs of doctors and scientists, I have learned that sometimes one must make a 'leap of faith'.** "

I open my mouth then my jaw snaps shut at the look on Asami's face. I can't quite place it, but it leaves me feeling disconcerted as she sits down stiffly at the table to the plate Bolin sets before her.

"The eggs look excellent, thank you Lieutenant." She seems to be going out of her way to avoid meeting my gaze, and I frown. However, Bolin is turning to me, a cup of coffee in his hand, and I give him my full attention.

Bolin beams. "I used to cook for my brother," he hesitates, frowning. I see a soft glow emanate from his goggles, and after a moment he relaxes again. "He liked eggs. And bacon." Then he grins. "But Ying says the Doc has banished bacon from the house because Avatar would eat it all."

"Excuse me," I huff. "I merely was ensuring sufficient protein in my diet."

To my relief Asami bursts out laughing. "You keep telling yourself that, honey."

I cross my arms in mock offense but quietly pleased at a glimpse of the old Bolin peeking through. The rest of our breakfast passes uneventfully.

—

I've managed to coax Asami outside to our patio where we sit on a lounge next to the fire pit. She's staring at the fire with my feet in her lap and she's rubbing my ankle absentmindedly.

"Okay, tell me."

Asami blink and looks over at me blankly. "Hrm?"

"Don't 'hrm' me. Your brain is practically smoking with how hard you're thinking."

Asami glares at me for a moment, then drops her gaze. "I'm… concerned."

"Tell me something I don't know," I reply dryly. "Give."

Asami sighs and runs her hands through her hair, and hesitates. She's saved by the sound of the sliding door being opened followed by approaching footsteps. We look up to see Bolin, shifting nervously on his feet and wringing his hands.

I give him a reassuring smile and wave him down onto the seat next to us. "What's up, Mouse?"

I see his eyes blink behind the clear lenses of his goggles. "Mouse," he mumbles thoughtfully, then he grins in growing recognition. "I'm Little Mouse!"

I chuckle and shove his knee playfully with my foot. "That's right, Bo. You're the Mightiest Mouse."

He grins and leans back, glancing shyly at Asami. "And you're Doc."

She nods, her previously pensive expression now serene as looks at him.

"Raava says you're not a pilot, but you still have a call sign because of Boss."

"Yep," I drawl, placing a proud kiss on her shoulder. "The Ferrets would be roadkill without her."

"That's cool," Bolin replies softly. "That's super cool." His voice fades away, but after a moment I see his goggles flash faintly, his eyes set alight by the brief glow. "I don't—" he pauses. "Please don't be mad at Raava, okay Doc?" He hesitates the blurts. "She didn't say anything, but she's been quieter today, and—" he stops, then ducks his head bashfully. "I just… I just feel _better_ when she's with me, you know?" He shrugs helplessly, but taps the side of the goggles. "Please don't make me take this off."

Asami's expression wars between concerned and compassionate, but she leans forward and takes his hand in hers. "I have some real concerns, Bolin, but not about how much Raava cares about your wellbeing, okay?" I see her swallow hard, then she adds, more softly, "I won't ever take her away from you."

"Yeah?" He perks up. "That's great, Doc, really great!"

"We just—" now it's her turn to pause. "I will feel better if we keep a close on you and your new hardware. Just in case."

"Sure, that's cool," Bolin agrees, nodding his head. "Anything you want."

He jumps up, cheerful and energized. He waves goodnight as he disappears back into the house.

I watch Asami carefully and see the worry return, and she lifts one hand to pitch her nose, her brow furrowed in thought.

"Asami?"

She sighs and shakes her head. "We may have a problem."

* * *

 **Note: I realized I accidentally had named two character's Chen. Apparently I really like that name. So, the first Chen (Korra's adjutant at the base) gets to keep it. The housekeeper is now Ying.**


	11. Chapter 11

**[AN] Quick interlude before things pick up a whole lot.**

 **Love, love, love all the great reviews (and enjoying the hell out of the theories and suppositions).**

 **I will say to CrackedShot in particular that Bolin's goggles were heavily influenced by Molly Millions' lenses from Burning Chrome/Neuromancer (which if you haven't read either of those, go do so now). They're not EXACTLY like them, but definitely the biggest influence.**

 **Beyond that, I will say no more... (for now)**

 **Amaterazu and 'Roar, your thoughts on the dynamics of Raava-Bolin-Asami are way fun, hope you enjoy where things go...**

* * *

Whatever Asami was worried about had to wait as Ying ran in to inform us that I had been summoned to base.

"I'll call you as soon as I know anything," I promise as I kiss her on my way out the door.

At the base I find our fighters partially disassembled and tons of crates stamped with Future Industries Defense Division.

I recognize Saikhan's assistant, a burly man who had served as quartermaster for the Corps training school for decades before following his Captain into the private sector. He's holding a clipboard while Kuvira scribbles something on it, then he mock salutes her before departing. She waves him away with a raised middle finger and he bellows a laugh as the truck pulls away.

Wei and Wing are ripping open crates with a glee that most people save for birthdays, but I suppose if you're a flight mechanic you have unusual delights.

"About time you got here, Avatar!" Kuvira shouts, noticing me watching. "Time to get your ass to work!"

I groan and shuck my jacket. "I thought rank would have its privileges," I grumble.

Kuvira smirks. "This is what you get for running a top secret mission. Wee and Mad oversaw the first shipment by themselves, so I made them go catch a few hours of sleep."

I snort in disbelief.

Kuvira grins in response. "Yeah, well, I made them swear to sleep in separate beds because they only get six hours to rest before they have to come back."

"Hope spring eternal."

Wei slings a box at me. "Less talking, more carrying!"

"Ow, dammit!"

—

"Admiral on the deck!"

I look up in surprise as Izumi strides into the hanger. I'm unable to come to attention as I'm currently holding a regulator in place for Wing, currently perched awkwardly inside the engine compartment of one of our fighters.

"Don't bother," Izumi says tiredly, waving away her adjutant as well as the various salutes being tossed at her. Her usually pristine uniform is slightly rumpled, and there are dark circles under her eyes. She lowers herself onto a nearby stool and peers up at Wing. He finishes wrenching it into place and gives us a thumbs up.

"Slick as shit, fresh from Future Industries." At Izumi's inquiring glance he clarifies. "New control systems that make the fighter both faster and more responsive, and a new more powerful evasion system."

"Saikhan and the Doc sending their love," Kuvira drawls as she appears with Wei from the other side of the fuselage. "These babies are going to be absolutely grim in a dogfight now."

Izumi nods. "What about the transport ship?"

Kuvira looks gleeful. "Doc's got one ready for us, latest model. Almost as fast as the fighters in a straight line, though obviously can't turn that well. New mounted gun array as well."

"It's a good thing she and Saikhan are coming with us though," Wei pipes up from where he's leaning against the landing gear. "Nobody in the Corps is trained to work on these new systems yet and some of that stuff is tricky—" He pauses as he sees my face. "Um…"

I try to relax my fists, which were now clenched. "What do you mean she's coming with us?" I growl.

"He was perfectly clear as to why," I hear behind me. I whirl to see my girlfriend standing there, her arms crossed and the look on her face daring me to say anything.

I scowl and cross my own arms. "Since when are you contributing to fighter development?"

I see her jaw clench. "When I wanted to do what I could to keep those I love safe!" She stalks towards me. "If there's _anything_ I can do to help bring you home, it's worth it." She's now close enough that I can see the shine of unshed tears in her eyes.

Everyone else is studiously pretending to not hear, for which I'm grateful.

"'Last time you went out on a mission you almost killed yourself!" I snap angrily, torn from compassion at her fears and terror that she would be so exposed. Again. "You expect me to trust you not to do that again?"

"Don't," she grinds out, eyes flashing. "This is not a topic for discussion."

Izumi clears her throat. "I'm afraid I have to concur, Avatar," she tells me wearily. "It's a calculated risk, but at this point it's a smaller risk than the mission being aborted because of problems with the new technology."

"Then rip it out!" I roar, whirling on the twins. I feel sick to my stomach at the thought of Asami on this mission and suppress it with fury. "Why in the hell didn't you tell me you couldn't service this? You think if it fails mid-dogfight we're going to have time for even Asami to fix it? If it's that unreliable, then I don't want it!"

I mentally flinch when I see Asami pale and press her lips together angrily, but I'm too furious to back down.

Unfortunately that's ultimately not up to me.

"Colonel, stand down!" Izumi barks. "The decision was mine, and it's been made." She glares at me, every inch the most decorated, fiercest, bad-ass pilot in the history of Space Fighter Corps. "We must all except that loss comes in the service of the greater good." Her voice trembles, and my heart sinks; her son Iroh's loss in the last war was clearly still a constant ache. "Remember your oath, Avatar."

"I fly in defense of my home, I fly with no fear in my heart, I will not falter in the face of my enemy, I will never fail to fail to serve with loyalty and honor." Asami murmurs, and the rest of us stare at her, eyes wide in surprise. Where had she learned this?

"Nor fail in my defense the United Republic of Planets," Kuvira finishes, her usual sardonic expression replaced by one of steely resolve.

There's a moment of silence as everyone turns to look at me expectantly. I feel my shoulders sag in defeat.

"Let's wrap this bird up," I say finally. "I suspect the Admiral has some intel for us."

She gives me a hard look, as if to convince herself that my composure has returned, then nods. "See you in the briefing room."


	12. Chapter 12

"Intelligence reports put Unalaq in Delta Quadrant." Izumi says without preamble. "It looks like he's been keeping away from planetary systems for a while, but our outpost near Alpha Daedalus picked up several large unregistered transport ships entering the system."

"That's dumb," Kuvira declares scornfully. "He had to know we were watching for something like that."

Wei cleared his throat. "Most people don't know about our new scanners," he reminds her with a wink at Asami, who had helped enhance the technology. "He probably thought he was out of range."

"Splitting up that much contraband would be hard to manage," Izumi adds. "And it's unclear that he has that many people helping him."

I shake my head. "His networks were pretty extensive, though I'm not sure what story he'd sell to get people on board. It's not like you can use the weapons he's got to rob a bank."

"Blackmail," Saikhan grunts. "Give us everything you've got or we level the planet."

"Might work for some," I muse, "but I'm betting at most he's only got a couple or so of his old crew. It's a big jump from criminal enterprises to outright rebellion."

"Mercenaries can always be bought," Kuvira mutters. "We've certainly seen our share of that over the years. Pay 'em enough and they'll do just about anything."

"We're moving into speculation at this point," Izumi says sharply. "Regardless of who's involved and why, we need to send strike now while he thinks he's secure in his hiding place, and before he can launch against highly populated systems." She gives me a stern look. "How soon can you be ready?"

I shrug one shoulder. "Two days at best. We need at least one test flight to fully shake out the new systems."

Carefully left unsaid was the fact that we had the systems installed at all and that Asami was using them as an excuse to come along, with Izumi's collusion. All my experience screamed at me that this was too risky a mission, that we needed to take more time to prepare. I met the Admiral's gaze; she knew exactly what I was thinking.

We both knew there really wasn't any other choice.

—

To my grudging surprise the new systems worked without a hitch. The Bitches and I ran our fighters hard through the Asteroid Belt, our standard testing ground for pilots and machines, and broke the current speed record by almost sixty percent. I was never going to hear the end of this.

After landing I climbed out of the cockpit to a very smug Asami Sato, standing at the launch pad with her arms crossed and one eyebrow raised in expectation. I held out for all of about fifteen seconds, and broke when Kuvira started laughing at me sour expression.

"Okay, fine, yes, the response and speed upgrades are fucking awesome, you bitch." I swung her around in my arms and kissed her soundly as she squealed in protest.

"That's _Doc Bitch_ to you, Avatar," she scolded me as I set her down. She then gave me a hard slap to the ass as she turned to go talk to Wei and Wing, the twins huddled gleefully over a lot of apparently exciting readouts.

Fucking nerds.

"So," Opal shoved me with one shoulder. "What does she get for proving she's more awesome than you?"

"I'm thinking handcuffs are involved." Jinora says with a smirk. "Maybe blindfolds."

I roll my eyes. "Don't you two get enough sex already without speculating about us?"

"Ha!" Kuvira laughs. "As if."

I see Izumi standing in the hanger doorway and pull the Bitches along to see her. We pull up and snap out our salutes.

"Status?"

"Systems shake out successful, Admiral," I report. "We're ready to go."

She nods, her face impassive before I see a small smirk emerge. "What was your time in the Belt?"

Opal beamed. "New record! Eight minutes, twenty-six seconds."

"Not bad, pilot, not bad," Izumi muses, her eyes twinkling suspiciously. "However, that's not a new record."

We all stare at her.

"Previous course record was over twenty minutes!" Jinora splutters.

Kuvira narrows her eyes. " _Your_ course record, as I recall."

Izumi nods pleasantly. "Yes, until earlier this morning." At our blank looks, she continues. "While you were all at the mess hall, I took another upgraded fighter out for a spin. Ran the Belt in seven minutes, fifty-one seconds."

There's a long silence, then Kuvira bursts out laughing. "You sly old dog!"

I grit my teeth. "Asami help you with that, too?"

"Of course." Izumi waved one hand lazily over her shoulder as she turned and left. "Rank does have it's privileges, after all."

—

I roll over and collapse onto my back, chest heaving as I struggle to catch my breath. Beside me Asami stretches with a low moan as her muscles protest at the movement.

"So," she says finally, her voice hoarse from a fair amount of screaming. "That's angry sex."

"Guess so," I reply. "I've never actually had it before, but it seemed to meet the criteria — screaming fights, thrown objects, furiously hard fucking, that sort of thing."

"Mmmm," she hums before turning and snuggling against me. "Thank you for only throwing pillows, though."

"And one coffee mug," I remind her, now feeling a little mournful. "Sorry about the dent in the wall."

She shrugs and sighs, her breath warm against my skin. "Considering it was your mug and you threw it before I was even in the room I think I can find it to forgive you. No blood, no foul."

"I would never throw anything like that _at_ you," I say grumpily.

She chuckles. "I'm sorry I helped Izumi keep her record." Her arm tightens around me. "I'm not sorry I'm coming with you. You know I can't _not_ go, anymore than you can't."

I blow out my breath, trying to ignore the threatening sting of tears. "I know."

She's quite for a moment. "I love you, Korra."

I roll both of us other until I can look down at her beautiful green eyes, so intent and luminous within her flawless face. Those eyes have always shown so much of her — her curiosity about the world, her delight in her creations, her constant steely resolve for what's right, and always so, so much love and affection, such as I can never feel like I deserve, but for which I'm grateful on a daily basis.

I dip my head down to her again, but there's no anger now, only softness and warmth. She responds in kind, her lips moving so gently against mine, her fingertips sliding up my back, a trail of goosebumps left in their wake.

"I love you, too." I whisper. "My beautiful, brilliant Asami."

* * *

 **Notes: Next up: "We are go for launch"**


	13. Chapter 13

**[AN] I am the worst, leaving you with such a long break, but I tell you I've been struggling with this story. There's three different ways this story could have gone and I honestly could not make up my mind. Can't tell you how often I rewrote this chapter.**

 **Anyway, here you go. Finally. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

"Bo?"

I peek into the guest wing sitting area, where Bolin has been spending most of his time of late. A pai sho game sits half finished on the board, the robotic arm Asami constructed one afternoon so Raava could move her own pieces is paused over one game piece, as if she's still pondering her next move. It was a little disconcerting the first time I saw the AI use it, her holographic arm overlaid on it as she moved her pieces in response to Bolin's challenge. Raava was of course delighted to have it, admitting that it also allowed her to poke Bolin when he tried to cheat.

Somethings never change.

I squint at the board as I pass on my way to check the adjoining rooms. Not surprisingly, Bolin is getting his ass kicked. Also, the rooms are empty and there is no response to my call and I frown.

"Raava? Where are you guys?"

After a moment the hologram flickers into view. " **Yes, Colonel**?"

"Where's Bolin?" I gesture to the empty room. "I wanted to say goodbye before I left for our training mission." Due to Bolin's psychological state the last thing anyone wanted was to worry him about what was actually going on, though it irks me to have to lie to him. It's not how Ferrets roll.

Raava hesitates and I frown.

"Is he okay?"

" **Lieutenant Bolin is in excellent health** ," Raava hurriedly assures me. " **We are currently on a walk**."

"Oh."

I pause, then say, "Can you ask him to come back? I'd like to give him a hug at least, since I'll be gone a few days." Or weeks. Hopefully not months.

The hologram's face goes blank, and I assume as she's conversing with Bolin wherever the hell he is on Asami's admittedly extensive property. Then her face takes on a pained expression.

" **Lieutenant Bolin wishes to avoid what he assures me will be an overly emotional encounter, but asked me to convey to you his desire that—** ," she hesitates again. " **You 'kick ass and take names**.'"

I burst out laughing, both at Bolin's use of the familiar admonishment as well as Raava's clear discomfort at using such a plebeian colloquialism.

"Well, consider me told," I chortle. "Keep him safe, okay? And Bumi promised he'd come over and hang out as well."

" **Colonel Korra** ," the AI informs me crisply. " **I assure you Lieutenant Bolin will continue to receive the maximum possible quality of care**."

I hold up my hands in apology. "No offense to your abilities, it's just something humans say to make themselves feel better when they leave a situation where they feel some responsibility." I shrug. "It's like a handoff."

She ponders this for a moment. " **Such as a baton in a relay race**?"

"Heh, maybe? Actually," I rub the back of my neck, already somewhat embarrassed. "You ever come across recordings of wrestling matches when you run around the global network?"

" **Wrestling** ," she responds almost immediately. " **An ancient Terran combat sport between two or more participants involving holds and throws against one's opponent towards the goal of 'pinning' said opponent's back to the ground or forcing their body outside of a specified boundary**."

"Yeah, okay," I try to fumble my way through my analogy, fighting back my feeling of extreme awkwardness. "Well in some forms it's kind of like a show okay? And there are teams against each other where they take turns doing the actual fighting. When the one fighting needs help or getting ride, whatever, the new fighter 'tags in', letting the first one know they can safely step back."

The AI has a thoughtful expression. " **I see. So you are suggesting that I am 'tagging in'**?"

I wince. "Sorta? Maybe? I dunno. Maybe this was a dumb analogy. You know what?" I am already backing my way to the door. "Just let Bo know I'll see him soon and to take care, okay?"

I swear I hear sarcasm when she replies. " **Certainly, Colonel. Consider yourself 'tagged out.'** "

—

"Command, this is Valkyrie One, requesting launch clearance."

"Copy Valkyrie One, you are go for launch."

Jinora's hands are confident on the controls and I watch proudly as I lounge in the co-pilot's seat. She really has become an outstanding pilot. Around us the ship rumbles as Jinora throttles up, sending us smoothly into the air. We're moving relatively slowly until we're out of atmosphere and the annoying speed limitations of air friction, but still moving at a pretty good clip. She waits until the blue sky fades into the glittering black of space then thumbs her comm. "Valkyrie One away, command."

"Copy that, Valkyrie One, we see you on the outer sensors now."

There's a pause, then a familiar voice comes over the comm. "Commander Yatsumi will have an updated briefing for you when you reach the base on Daedalus," says Izumi. "And fly safe, Ferrets. Stay out of trouble."

Kuvira snorts as I thumb my own comm. "That's never a promise a Ferret can make, Admiral, but we'll do our best. Valkyrie out."

I can almost hear Izumi's eyes roll through the comm. "Command out."

I blow out a breath as I glance around the bridge. Asami and Wei are at the flight engineer stations, with Kuvira, Wing, and Opal strapped into some of the jump seats at the rear of the bridge. I already miss the fact there's no ready room on this ship compared to the one we used against the VAATU AI and the Fire Nation zombies, nor is there a big hanger or sickbay, instead just four launch tubes and a pull out medi-bed in the galley. But this ship is also smaller, faster, more maneuverable, and a capable of a lot more sneaking around. I suspect we'll find the trade offs more than acceptable before this mission is over.

I tilt my head at the ceiling. "Raava, you all settled in?"

" **Insofar as I understand your question, I am fully enabled on this vessel Colonel Korra** ," the AI replies.

"Good to see Raava gets the whole colloquialism thing now," Kuvira drawls. "And I and everyone else who have not drawn first watch should go hit the sack." She pokes a threatening finger at Opal. "And no funny business, Mad."

Opal takes on an expression of wounded disbelief as she climbs into the co-pilots seat while the rest of us snicker. She waves us out the door with her middle finger raised.

"Bitch," Kuvira comments, though her face shows her amusement.

"Forever and always," Opal and Jinora singsong back.

Asami cracks up.

—

Six days later saw us approaching our destination. My appreciation for Future Industries technology, already immense, has officially climbed into the stratosphere; it should have taken us over ten days to get here. I am seriously in love with these engine mods.

I am less in love the with air of insufferable smugness emanating from Asami and the twins for the past three days.

"Daedalus base, come in," Kuvira intones into her comm. "This is patrol ship Valkyrie One, requesting landing coordinates."

There's a loud burst of static and I blink in surprise. Kuvira glances over at me, my sense of concern mirrored on her face as she repeats her hail.

"Daedalus base, this is Valkyrie One, come in."

This time there is only silence.

Kuvira frowns. "Raava, anything on the scanners?"

" **Commencing scans** ," Raava responds.

Having the AI on the crew is a such a blessing — she never gets sleepy and with her helping out we are able to operate in three shifts rather than two. In a pinch she can even fly the ship herself though we hope to avoid that as last ditch scenario. A scenario sort of like when Asami almost killed herself setting off an EMP inside a dreadnaught around the same time a Fire Nation fleet of zombies tried attacking the Terran home world.

I really didn't want a repeat of anything remotely close to that scenario.

"Let's get everybody up," I say as I sound the alarm. "Time to get to work."

General quarters blares through the corridors and a few minutes later everyone is assembled, just in time for Raava's report.

" **Scanning complete. Daedalus Three shows extensive damage centered around a large human settlement that corresponds to the location of the mining colony and adjoining military base. I see at least three sensor readings of decomposing plasma engines, suggesting damaged or destroyed deep space capable ships**."

"Fucking shit on a stick," Kuvira breathed. "The bombardment device?"

I glance at Asami. Her green eyes are narrowed and her jaw is tight with anger.

" **Evidence supports that supposition, Lieutenant Colonel Kuvira**."

Raava's ability to detect social clues has not yet enabled her to detect Kuvira's hatred of being addressed by her rank but thankfully the radio suddenly crackles to life before she can respond.

"Hello? Hello?" There's another blast of static and several loud thumps. "Dammit Ling, hold that antenna higher!"

I lean over and flip the comm back on. "Daedalus base, this is patrol ship Valkyrie One, do you copy."

"Oh thank fuck," the voice on the other end blasts. "You guys sure got here quickly. We only sent out the distress beacon three days ago!"

I exchange glances with Kuvira. She's shaking her head with a frown. "We received no distress call, Daedalus. We were just in the neighborhood."

We hear a raspy cough and some murmured discussions. "Better keep a sharp lookout then, Valkyrie," the voice advises. "There's a crazy fucker out there with some big fucking bombs."

"Yeah, no shit." I sigh. "Raava, any signs of active ships in this sector?"

The AI responds immediately. " **There is nothing in range at this time, Colonel Korra**."

I look over my shoulder. "Wee, Mad, time to get some fighters launched. Twins, on the guns."

I get a round of "Copy that" and "Aye, Skipper" before they depart. I motion to Asami to get herself strapped in as I slide into the co-pilot's seat. Before us the large green and blue ball that is Daedalus Three grows in the viewports.

"Here we go," I mutter under my breath then thumb my conn back on. "Deadalus, please pass us something close to reasonable landing coordinates. We're coming in."

"Copy that Valkyrie, stand by."

Wei's voice suddenly blares over the speaker. "Gun One to Bridge, come in. We've got a problem."

Kuvira's eyebrows raise as I reply. "Go ahead Gun One."

There's a pause, then Wei says more slowly. "I think you better come down here, Skipper."

I frown, but climb out of my seat and head down the corridor, Asami on my heels. She runs into me as I come to a shocked halt. A familiar form is leaning against the wall, the open hatch to the equipment bay behind him. Through the hatch I can see a sleeping bag and piles of discarded food wrappers amidst the cases of ammunition, food, and other supplies. I cross my arms as I turn to face our interloper, biting back the fury building in my chest. I glance at Asami who looks utterly shocked.

"Bolin! What in all the holy hells are you doing here?!"


	14. Chapter 14

**[AN]** **Oh my God, it's been awhile. Sorry for the delay, Life Happened(tm), but don't worry, this work will never be abandoned...**

Chapter Text

* * *

Bolin sits before us, utterly unrepentant, a poorly hidden grin on his face. The googles Raava designed for him are in place, and I can see faint flashes of light reflecting on his eyeballs.

My mouth opens and closes several times, then I whirl to face Asami.

"You!"

"Me?" Her face shows her shock at my accusatory tone.

"Your, your—" I sputter. "Your daughter lied!" I growled.

She stares at me. "My daughter?"

"Raava!" I yell.

Asami goes rigid in shock.

There is a noticeable pause, then the AI's voice sounds around us, a bit quieter than usual. "Yes, Colonel?"

My angry gaze holds Asami's confused one before I tear it away and stalk over to the nearby comm speaker, slamming my fist against it in my fury. "Did you, or did you not, claim that Bolin was out for a walk?" I demand. "Was he in fact already on my ship?"

There is another notable pause. " **I cannot confirm or deny Lieutenant Bolin's location at the time you spoke to me** ," Raava finally admits, her digital voice seemingly subdued, maybe even sheepish.

I mentally shake my head at this; how the hell can an AI feel sheepish?

Asami's expression switches between wonder and outrage, and her eyes flicker between the smiling Bolin and the comm speaker.

"This," she pauses, then shakes her head. "This is unexpected, to say the least."

My jaw drops. "Unexpected? Unexpected? Raava!" I thump my fist against the wall again, my ire at the AI flaring. "In what aspect of your precious research did you find it a good idea to bring a medical patient with brain damage on a military mission?"

There's a pause, and I pretend to not notice the looks being exchanged by the rest of the crew.

"Hey, Cap," says Bolin, his voice easy, playful. "It's cool. I'm just along for the ride. You won't even know I'm here."

I turn and glare at him incredulously. "Not even know—" I throw my hands up in the air. "Point proved." My eyes narrow as I see more than hear Bolin mutter under his breath, and his hand curls slightly, a hand I now notice is wearing what appears to be a thin glove, with cable leads running up his arm before disappearing under his shirt. I step closer, peering carefully. The leads emerge from underneath his collar and connect to the back of his goggles.

"What is that?" I demand.

Asami steps closer and squints, but as she opens her mouth to speak, Kuvira interrupts. "Can we put this on hold? We should get planetside before any other surprises hit us."

I take a deep breath then nod. "Everybody to stations. Bolin," I scowl at his eager expression. "With me, but only because I need you strapped in for re-entry."

He fails to acknowledge, or probably even notice, my irritation.

"Awesome!"

—

The landing coordinates turn out to be a cracked launch pad near the remains of buildings lying silent and still amidst a smoky haze. A hapazard circle of bonfires our target. Just outside the target zone a small ground transport squats amidst the rubble. Seeing this Kuvira groans.

"You'd think they'd take better cover than that, for fuck's sake. They're sitting ducks right now."

I nod absently, scanning our surroundings as the Valkyrie sinks onto its landing gear with a groan. Above us Jinora and Opal continue to circle in their fighters, covering us until we're secure. "Gun Two, you copy?"

"Read you loud, Avatar." Wing responds immediately.

"Stay on the gun and be ready to unload hell." Gun Two has a better line of sight when we're on the ground and I'm not taking any chance. "Wei, get down to the armory and get us some gear for a little walk."

"Copy that, Skip."

I haul myself out of my chair and point at Bolin. "You will stay here with Asami while we secure the drop zone."

Both he and Asami start to protest but I ignore them as I turn to Asami. "Be ready to launch the ship quickly if things go pear-shaped. We may need to leave in a hurry." I grab her hand and squeeze. "Please."

At this Asami bites her lip, but nods, clearly still reluctant. "I'll be ready."

I give her knuckles a quick kiss in thanks. Then I glare at the comm again. "Raava!"

" **Yes, Colonel**."

To my relief her voice is back to its normal, coolly competent, self.

"Please assist Doctor Sato in readying the ship for a fast departure, and keep scanning for any possible hostile. And Raava," I pause, giving Bolin another hard look. "If you let anything happen to either of these two I swear I will take the biggest magnet I can find to your core memory."

"Cap!"

"Korra!"

There's a pause, but then Raava replies, her voice sounding almost amused.

" **Read you loud, Avatar**."

I laugh and close the hatch on Asami's splutter.

—

Kuvira's hands rest on the pommels of her guns, still holstered around her waist. I've got my own blaster gripped loosely in one hand, the barrel resting against my shoulder. Behind us Wei is bedecked with a large assortment of guns and projectiles and he holds a huge range gun at the ready.

Kuvira eyes him with mild disdain. "You really need to hump all that shit?"

He scoffs in reply. "Do you think I'm allowed to play with this many toys at home? Let me have my fun."

I roll my eyes. "Stay focused, people."

" **Colonel Korra, there are life signs approaching from the south-east** ," Raava reports via the ship's speaker system.

Our eyes all snap left and we spot the dust trail indicating another approaching vehicle. The first vehicle we saw was apparently either a decoy or abandoned in the wake of the attack.

Wei slides himself into position, the big gun resting against one of the Valkyrie's support struts. Kuvira and I wait for the vehicle to approach, watching for any sign of hostility.

Instead we see a land transport skid to a halt and an assortment of Space Corp uniforms and civilian gear tumble out to greet us. Kuvira looks over them clinically.

"You guys look like shit."

The man in the lead glares at her. "You try looking good when your base is burning down around you. Doesn't leave time for makeup and curlers." He adds, almost as an afterthought, "Asshole."

She grins tightly. "Yeah, okay fair." She reaches one hand out. "Kuvira. My friends call me Boss." She jerks one thumb over her shoulder. "That's my CO. You can call her Asshole, too." She winces as I smack her hard on the back of her head. "Ow."

I ignore her grumble and hold my hand out to the man. "Colonel Korra. That's Sergeant Wei over there taking a bead on you."

The guy glances over as Wei waves casually. "Well, can't say I blame you. If you look close you'll see our guy returning the favor from the back of the transport."

A hand pops through the window and flashes a thumbs up sign. The barest glint of a blaster barrel is visible.

Kuvira bursts out laughing as I roll my eyes.

"Anyway, now that the most important part of the introductions are over, I'm Foster. At the moment I'm in charge of what's left of Daedalus Base, but only because nobody else wanted to do it." He shrugs. "Under normal circumstances I'm Head of Facilities. Keep the toilets working and all that shit." He pauses. "No pun intended."

Kuvira chokes back a laugh.

"How many total survivors?" I ask, ignoring my second's mirth.

He sighs heavily, and rubs his face. "Minus the handful of wounded we've got holed up in our sick bay, and one of my engineers who's on watch, you're looking at 'em."

" **DAEDALUS BASE HAD A FULL COMPLEMENT OF FIFTY SPACE CORPS PERSONNEL AND ONE HUNDRED FIFTY SCIENTISTS AND SUPPORT STAFF** ," Raava reports to my prosthetic eye. She seems to have calculated that saying that fact out loud wouldn't be a good idea, impressing me with her ever evolving understanding of human nature.

"Fuck," I swear under my breath. I mentally brace myself and look back at Foster, noticing his stoic expression and giving him an understanding nod. "Care to give us the five cent tour?"


	15. Chapter 15

I leave Wee, Mad and the twins to secure the ship and keep a general look out. I decided to make Bolin Kuvira's problem, and her expression told me she wasn't sure whether to be irritated at me for sticking her with him or pleased that he was up and about and talking to her for the first time in a couple of years. Regardless he was currently tagging along with us happily, and Kuvira's expression changes as he tries to get a laugh out of her are comical to behold.

Asami of course was coming along to see to the base's wounded, bringing along her medi-kit just in case. Both the base doctor and medic had been killed along with most of the rest of the base's personnel when part of the bombardment struck a direct hit against the mess hall during dinner. The wounded had been placed in stasis pods in the hopes of eventually getting them to medical care, and Foster had gestured in the direction of the hit as the transport made it's way back towards what was left of headquarters.

"We had all of about ten seconds warning, the poor bastards."

I had gritted my teeth at the site.

Where the mess hall had been was now a crater, a few lingering wisps of smoke floating morosely upward. I caught site of a jury-rigged flag pole planted nearby, flying the United Planets flag at half-mast.

I turn back to see Asami watching me, a look of sorrow on her face and one comforting hand on my thigh. My hand covers hers as I take a deep breath.

"At least it was quick," I say quietly. "And here's hoping we can help who's left."

She leans against me and rests her head against my shoulder. "No matter what we'll get them home."

I nod grimly. "Copy that, Doc."

The transport jerks to a stop and we pile out, grateful to get out of the claustraophobic interior. Dix and Yun, two Space Corp privates barely out of basic training who had been escorting one of the base geologists at a nearby quarry when the bombardment hit, hurry over to open the doors into headquarters for us. They are very young, and clearly in awe of Kuvira.

The surviving geologist, a small feisty woman named Mei, is clearly very protective of the young privates, and I notice that she maintains a watchful eye over everything.

Our gazes meets and I smile and nod. She stares hard at me for a moment, but I eventually see a small curl of a smile in return.

We follow Foster into the interior of the building, making our way along dim corridors until we reach a room better lit than the rest of the building. Another woman rises from where she had been seated near a row of stasis pods. Her left arm is in a sling and there's a nasty looking cut visible above her right eyebrow. She had the same watchful eye as Mei and I note the blaster resting on the desk near her hand.

"Ling!" Foster calls out. "Found us a doctor if you can believe it."

Asami strides forward, her hand already out. "Doctor Asami Sato. And you are?"

The woman blinks and her suspicious scowl fades. "Doctor Ling Zhao, Physicist. Doctor Sato, it's an honor."

Asami pauses. "Ling Zhao," she mutters, then her face brightens considerably. "Oh! Doctor Zhao! Your paper on solvable vector nonlinear Riemann problems was truly groundbreaking!"

Ling grins. "Well, Future Industries did write me a very generous grant after that paper was published, so thank you, Doctor Sato."

Asami beams. "It was well deserved and please call me Asami, and if you have any notes on our patients?"

"Very limited, I'm afraid, Doctor Sato, with my limited background in biological sciences, but I will show you what the medi-bot was able to produce." Ling immediately turns to power up her terminal, her face now fully transformed from distrust to hero worship as Asami approaches. I smile inwardly, always pleased when others are as enthralled with my girlfriend as I am.

Bolin wanders over and lays his hands on one of the stasis pods. He seems to be mumbling under his breath, and my gaze lingers on his goggles; he's talking to Raava and I'm still not sure how I feel about their evolving relationship.

Kuvira distracts me with a poke to the ribs. "So, what's the next move?"

I frown, thinking hard. "Unalaq's got to be counting on the fact that his bombardment was successful in wiping out the base before an alert could be sent out, otherwise he would have come back with a second bombardment." I stare at the ceiling, thinking hard. "Our little ship wouldn't have triggered him unless they've got sensors nearby, which we didn't detect."

Kuvira looks thoughtful. "So, he doesn't know we're here."

"He doesn't know we're here," I agreed. I motion to her to follow me towards the far corner of the sick bay.

Kuvira crosses her arms and stares at the floor. "We need to evacuate the survivors. They're sitting ducks here."

I nod, grimly. "That means loading up the Valkyrie and shipping them home."

She winces. "The fighters aren't very comfortable for long trips, Avatar."

"Are you getting wussy in your old age, Boss?" I tease, then sigh. "Open to alternative suggestions."

She smirks. "Why don't you ask your genius girlfriend?"

I choke, loud enough that I see Asami lift her head and look over at me. I realize Kuvira's spoken an important truth, despite the fact that I know she was only kidding — I can't make this decision alone. "Okay."

She blinks. "Okay?"

I nod. "You're right. We weren't expecting the base to be targeted, but it was. The mission plan has to change, and I'd be stupid not to use all available brains on this."

Kuvira stares at me, then pokes in the arm with a grimace. "Who are you and what have you done with my commanding officer?"

"Ha," I reply flatly. "Grab Bolin and go make sure the ship and sensor array are sorted. Then bring everybody back here. We have a new strategy to figure out."

"Read you loud, Avatar."


	16. Chapter 16

Asami paces around the holo table, staring hard at the system map currently being displayed, another readout showing specs of the familiar defense cylinder as well as the bombardment devices. Ling and Mei shadow her, occasionally throwing out questions. The twins hover near the table controls, adjusting the read outs at Asami's instruction.

Foster sinks down in a chair next to me, handing me a cup of coffee. "Your man Wei confirms they're read for the stasis pods to be loaded onto your ship. Fast turnaround"

"The twins are very efficient," I agree, then give him a nod of respect. "You did well, by the way, getting all of your wounded secured."

Foster shrugs. "Desperation is a good motivator." He nods to where the three scientists continue their slow march. "Your doctor seems to be something of a celebrity."

"I guess," I shrug, trying to play it off, but as he rolls his eyes at me I know the stupid grin on my face is giving away my poorly hidden pride. "She's got three doctorates and basically invented a new field of biomechanics. She's the CEO of Future Industries, and is an advisor to the United Republic Planetary Council."

He narrows his gaze, but I see his lips curl. "What's she doing with you, then?"

Kuvira, sitting nearby, snorts out a laugh. "Korra's apparently good in the sack. It's the only thing we can think of. "

I feel my face heat up even as I kick out one foot, upending her chair. She's still laughing as she hauls herself back to her feet. "I think I'll go find Bolin before I get shot."

"You do that," I grumble, my middle finger waving a special salute in her direction.

Foster shakes his head. "Wish we had you and your crew for security instead of the knuckleheads we got. Their CO viewed this as a punishment assignment and made everybody's lives a living hell trying to impress people back at headquarters. His troops hated him, and most of them hated us for dragging them all out here I guess. Not very exciting, running security for a science outpost."

"Doubt any of them had seen combat then, or they'd appreciate the quiet." I snort. "So, you weren't impressed by his efforts?"

"No particularly, no." He looks at where Dix and Yun linger awkwardly near the scientists, clearly awed. "Those two were always all right, though, nice kids with helpful attitudes. It saved their lives in the end, too, since they always were happy to volunteer to be escorts and were off base when the shit show hit."

He pauses as Kuvira drags Bolin into the room. She pushes him down into a chair and gives him a playful slap on the back of his head. "No more exploring for you, young man!" At my questioning look she clarifies. "He was in one of the labs, doing a whole lotta poking around."

I roll my eyes.

Asami and her new acolytes come over as Wei and Wing troop in. Her face is thoughtful as she seeks me out. Our gazes meet and she gives me a slow smile that makes my heart stutter in my chest.

I clear my throat. "Okay, status from the Valkyrie?"

"All sorted," Wei declares. "And before you ask, Raava double-checked."

Bolin grins, and mutters something under his breath, his fingers tapping his goggles.

"Anything yet on the long range scans?"

Wei opens his mouth, but an alarm starts ringing on his sensor tablet. His gaze drops down in alarm. Wing and Kuvira lean over his shoulder to look.

"Valkyrie's sensors are picking up massive readings from Daedalus Five," he says soberly. "Scanners read almost like a fleet launched."

My stomach drops, terror at what kind of 'fleet' it was. "What's the trajectory?"

The twins are pale, and there's a mixture of fear and rage in Kuvira's eyes as she looks up at me. "Whatever it is, it's heading towards the Terran home system."

—

I rub my jaw where Foster had punched it. The decision to leave the pods behind was heartwrenching but necessary. Kuvira had pulled him off me and demanded he shout out a better idea or stand down. I hadn't so much as blocked given my own heartache at the decision.

After a long and tense moment he had whirled and stalked off. Ling and Mei had fallen into step beside him, giving me dirty looks as they left.

I seriously couldn't blame them.

" **Colonel Korra** ," Raava draws my attention back from my self-loathing, the AI's voice quiet through the speakers in Valkyrie's cockpit. " **The communications packet has been sent to fleet headquarters**."

"Thanks, Raava," I mutter. At least now the pods have a chance of recovery even if we don't make it. Assuming there's anyone else left to recover them.

 **"Lieutenant Colonel Kuvira and Captains Opal and Jinora are stationed in escort formation,** " Raava continues. " **And Sergeants Wei and Wang are manning Guns One and Two**."

I stare at the control panel.

" **Colonel**?" The AI's voice sounds confused, if that were even possible for a synthetic intelligence. " **What are you orders**?"

A hand grips my shoulder and I glance sideways to see Asami looking at me, her face showing her concern. "Korra?"

I turn away quickly and rub at my temples, then slap the comm button.

"Boss, take us away," I choke out, still struggling to focus with the crushing guilt and worry eating away at me. "Raava, you have the stick."

"Copy that, Valkyrie One," Kuvira's voice is steady, as always my rock despite the storm raging within me. "Bitches away."

" **I have the stick, Colonel** ," Raava adds, her voice quieter than usual. I recognize her new use of pilot vernacular in passing, but can't manage any other response.

I see the fighters streak away, and after a moment I hear Valkyrie's engines roar under Raava's control, then feel the surge as we're launched. Under any other circumstance I wouldn't have dreamed of letting anyone, including the AI, control a ship when I was sitting in the pilot's seat, but I couldn't shake the look of rage and disgust in Foster's face

Asami's hand slides down my arm and grips my hand, tugging at me until I turn to face her.

"Honey," she whispers, searching my face.

"We're leaving them behind, 'Sami," I choke out hoarsely. My chest is tight with despair. "I've never left anyone behind. Ever."

She sighs, her thumb rubbing comforting circles across my knuckles. "Was it the right decision?"

"Yes," I reply with no hesitation. I know it was. It didn't help.

"You didn't leave them behind, Cap," I jump, startled by the sound of Bolin's voice behind me. I had left him in the crew quarters with the Daedalus crew but he was now sitting down in one of the rear jump seats, his face earnest as always as he looks at me. "You're keeping them safe. Until we finish the mission. That's what I told the Daedalus crew but they were still mad and Foster made me leave." He shrugs, seemingly not bothered. "I'd rather be here anyway."

I stare back at him, then nod slowly, letting that truth seep in. "Copy that, Little Mouse."

His return grin is huge, and I can't help but smile at the sight of it, though I also can't help but notice they way his gloved hand is slightly curled against the arm rest of the chair, as if he were hold someone else's hand in his own. My bemusement, however, is interrupted.

" **Contact** ," Raava announces. " **Course change from enemy target. One element breakaway on intercept to Daedalus Three**."

"Fuck," I growl as I slap the comm. "Boss, we've got an incoming!"

"I heard," Kuvira responds irritably. "I didn't think they could see us from this far away yet. Can we tell what it is?"

" **Scans indicate a match in readings to a single IDW6 Defense Mine. I see no other evidence that we have been detected**."

I stiffen until Asami speaks up. "The mines are not re-entry capable, so it's not an attack on the base, and yet it's heading towards the base and not towards us. I think Unalaq is covering his tracks in case anyone comes around."

"I agree with Doc," Jinora comments, joining the discussion. "The mine you guys ran into chased you as soon as it detected you."

"You better hope we stay out of range," Kuvira says seriously. "That was not a fun experience."

"So what's the plan, Avatar?" Opal asks.

I don't even hesitate. "We run a stakeout on him, stay just on the edge of our sensor range, which will be well out of his." I squeeze Asami's hand in appreciation for her work on the sensor arrays that made this even possible. "We had hoped to sneak up on him planet-side, and try to capture him before he did anything. That's out now, so we need to wait and see if we can get a new opportunity." I flip the map to go wide view, and Raava obliging plots the current trajectory of Unalaq's little party of death. "How long do you think we have? He's going a lot slower than we can, at least."

" **At current velocity they will enter the Terran System in eleven days** ," the AI responds after a brief hesitation. I try hard not to notice Asami looking very smug even as Wei decides to pipe up.

"How about those engines upgrades, eh? That's barely half our speed."

"Shut up, Wei.


	17. Chapter 17

I stare at the ceiling, eyes gritty with fatigue but my thoughts too troubled to let me sleep. Asami is curled up against me, her head warm against my shoulder. Soft, even breaths tickle my collar bone as my fingers caress her back.

Eventually she shifts, stretching deliciously against me.

"Can't sleep?" She murmurs.

I sigh out a breath. "No."

She rolls slightly and props her head on one hand as she regards me in the dim light of our cabin.

"It's not just Foster," she states.

"Not really." I pause, then amend. "Not totally anyway."

"What is it?"

I caressed the side of her face and tucked a lock of hair behind her air. "My uncle is responsible for all those deaths. He's the reason there are wounded in stasis pods we had to leave behind." My voice catches. "I—"

Asami sighs. "You know you're not responsible for that, right?"

"I know, but…"

"Korra," she tells me firmly. "You can't take that on. You can't."

I'm silent, eventually shrugging.

She cocks an eyebrow at me. "Do you blame me for what my father did? Because of him you lost half your squadron. Bolin. His brother. The Admiral's son."

I blink. "I would never blame you—" I start to reply hotly, but at her knowing look I pause, suddenly feeling sheepish. "Fine. You win. Again."

"Of course I win," she huffs quietly. "Roll over."

I obey automatically, settling onto my stomach before groaning quietly as she settles on top of me. She pushes my sleep shirt up and over my head before she drops warm hands back down to knead tense muscles. Her knees press against my ribs, the silkiness of her thighs eliciting a shiver as she massages my back, my shoulders, my neck. Under her sure touch I finally feel myself start to relax.

Eventually, however, soft lips begin trailing their way up my spine and I feel her begin a slow rock against me. My hips rise to press back against her almost of their own accord, and I hear her breath catch then release in a slow exhale.

I turn us both, pulling her tightly against me. My lips seek out hers and our kiss is deep and languid. We take our time, keeping our movements measured and soft, relishing the closeness. My hands trace patterns against her skin as I slip a thigh between her legs and I tremble at the heat I can feel from her. We move slowly, carefully, giving each other every ounce of love and compassion we can muster.

Eventually, though, our bodies' desire can longer be denied and our initially slow rhythm soon becomes frantic. The small cabin is filled with gasps, cries, and moans and I watch, fascinated, as Asami throws her head back in ecstasy, the fast beat of her pulse clearly visible in the pale curve of her throat.

"I love you," I whisper as she crests, fingers gripping desperately at my shoulders.

"Love you too," she finally gasps out, her chest still heaving. "My Avatar."

—

" **Contact** ," Raava reports. " **IDW6 Defense Mine launch detected."**

"Another one?" Wei grouses. "What the hell? There's nothing out here!"

We've watched Unalaq's ship drop three more mines in the last two days, but these have been out in the middle of nowhere, not near a planet.

Kuvira suddenly sits up from where she's been slouched at the nav station and slams her hand down on the console. "Shit!"

We all stare at her.

"Something's been bugging me about the locations." She types furiously at the console then gestures at the holo of our location that pops up. A small red lines appears, weaving its way near, but not on top of, the locations of the mines.

"That," Kuvira growls. "Is the standard shipping route to Terra from the Alpha quadrant. Totally close enough for a mine's detection field to get triggered."

" **That is correct, Lieutenant Colonel Kuvira.** " Raava confirms.

Jinora rolls her eyes. "How in hell do you know that?"

Kuvira shrugs. "It was on a test at the academy last term. There was a time Space Corps flew those routes to protect the transport ships, if you recall."

"We're not as old as you, Boss, or did you _forget?"_

Asami stirs, the movement heading off Kuvira's retort and the additional snark I could Jinora and Opal gearing themselves up for. "So he's attempting to sabotage a shipping route? As what? Part of our theoretical blackmail scheme?"

Opal narrows her eyes. "Maybe as a demonstration. Let everyone know he means business."

Asami shakes her head slowly and looks at Kuvira. "How many crew on a transport, Boss?"

Kuvira's jaw tightens. "They take passengers along with the cargo for longer trips. I guess it could be anywhere from three hundred to a thousand per ship. They often move multiple ships as a convoy, too."

"Shit." I mutter. "Wee, see if you can get headquarters on the horn. I need to talk to Izumi." I point at the twins. "You two go with Asami to the hangar."

Asami raises an eyebrow at me.

I return her look grimly. "I need you to figure out a way to get those mines to detonate without me getting blown up again."

" **I suspect that Doctor Sato would appreciate a solution that did not involve hospitalization**." Raava agrees.

"Not helping, Raava," I grouse.

Asami's grimaces, then her face grows thoughtful and she nods at me before following the twins out the door.

"I thought you liked being able to play with your doctor?" Kuvira teases.

I glare back at her. "You go, too, asshole. See what you can remember about the damn things. Even your senile memory is better than nothing." I ignore the raised middle finger she throws my way as she leaves and instead turn to the console to report in. As I wait for headquarters to respond to our hail I catch sight of Bolin leaning against the bulkhead in the corridor. He gives me a long, pointed look, then grins and turns to trot after Asami.

—

The blaring of the alarms has me on my feet before I'm fully conscious. "What the hell?"

"Korra—" Asami pushes herself off of the bunk, blinking furiously as she tries to wake up.

The pounding on the door only adds to the chaos. I slap the door release to find Opal standing in the corrirdor, face pale.

"Mad?"

Her fear is palpable, her words stilted. "Bolin's taken a fighter. He's gone."

* * *

 **[AN] A little short I know, but this is mostly setup for the next chapter *bounce*bounce*bounce* :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**[AN] A reminder that Raava speaking via text in Korra's HUD is all caps. Not my first choice, but dealing with formatting limitations.**

* * *

Chapter Text

Asami sits hunched at the nav station, her computer on her lap. She's spent the last twenty minutes poring over the Valkyrie's mainframe searching for Raava, because Raava is missing.

No, I correct myself as she finally raises her gaze to meet mine and I feel something in me lurch at the expression on her face: Raava is gone. Gone, like Bolin.

She confirms my fear. "I'm not sure how she was able to do this safely, but there isn't a hint of her digital signature anywhere I can detect."

"Fuck on a stick," Kuvira breathes. She's sitting on the edge of the flight console. Her boots are shoved against the co-pilot seat in defiance of about eight regulations prohibiting such a position.

Wing leans around Asami, one hand branded against the console and his eyes fixed on the scanner beyond her, tracking Bolin's progress. Opal and Jinora are crammed in the hatchway just beyond him, both twitching and anxious. I had flatly refused their request to go after him, which nearly led to blows, but there was no way I was risking anyone else given what I knew about those damn things.

I see Wing grimace. "He's getting awfully close to that last mine's detection zone. "

I grit my teeth and jerk my chin at Kuvira. She rolls her eyes. "He didn't answer the first thousand times, but sure, I'll try again." She thumbs the comm. "Valkyrie One to that fucking idiot who stole a fighter, come in."

"Pretty sure that's not a regulation hail," Jinora mutters to Opal.

We all jump as Bolin's voice booms out of the speaker. "Copy, Valkyrie One, but a little busy here. Will call you back."

I lurch to my feet. "Bolin, get your shit-brained ass back to this ship right now!" I bellow. I ignore Opal's scowl.

The speaker stays silent.

I slam my hand against the bulkhead. "What in all the holy hells does he think he's doing?" I demand to no one in particular, then I whirl and point my finger at Asami. "And what the fuck happened to that piece of software I'm gonna delete once I figure out where the hell it went?"

I see her jaw tighten, but her response is remarkably mild. "I think it's safe to say that Raava has gone well beyond my ability to anticipate." She rubs her temple tiredly. "If I were to guess, it's that she's reached a phase a development where she's developing an actual personality."

"Didn't she have on already?" Kuvira demands. "I mean she wasn't exactly up on the jokes, but still…"

Asami shakes her head. "She has had what I could call limited sentience, primarily around her ability to experience her surroundings and learn from them visually and audibly. However, it's limited because until recently she had no capacity for emotional response, or for that matter the more tactile of the senses — touch, taste, and smell."

Wing looks confused. "Why does that matter?"

"There's a lot of research that seems to show that in a human those senses have significant impact on the portions of the brain that pertain to emotion and memory." Asami starts rolling her ring on her finger, her strongest tell for how stressed she is. "But Raava does not have a biological brain, or anything remotely resembling a chemical nervous system, so it's hard to imagine a scenario where a personality, or character traits and individualized emotional responses, could arise."

I drum my fingers on the console. "But you think maybe now she has?"

She sighs. "I'm increasingly thinking that it's likely. And it's a problem because it means I can't anticipate any choices she can make with any accuracy."

I feel my eyebrows climb up into my hair. "Like, that she'd figure out a way to delete herself off the ship's mainframe?"

"That she'd even consider doing that in the first place." Asami's brows furrow. "It's not logical, and Raava has historically behaved very logically."

A small alarm sounds, heading off any response I might have. A moment later Wing shouts, "Look!"

I pull up the nav display onto the forward screen and we all lean forward. The rogue fighter is performing a series of swirling loops, just at the border of where we had calculated the mine's detection zone would be, and we see the mine start to move from its position, but not at the attack speed Kuvira and I had seen before.

"Whoa," Kuvira breathes, apparently noticing the same thing.

"What?" asks Jinora. "What 'whoa'?"

It's Kuvira who replies. "When Korra and I ran into one of those things, it went balls out to get at us right away." She points at the screen where the mine has turned. "Apparently this one is trying to figure out if there's actually a threat."

Opal is staring hard at where Bolin's fighter is moving, twisting and looping and staying just on the edge of the detection zone. I'm starting to realize it's something that a human pilot would have trouble doing so precisely.

"Boss," I say quietly. "Take the stick, and start following. Stay out of range, but head towards where the last mine before this one was dropped."

She glares at me for a long minute, but nods jerkily. "Copy that, Avatar. Taking the stick."

"Releasing," I mutter before tapping frantically on my R.A.a.V.A. HUD controls*, settling into comms mode.

I thumb the ship's comm. "Valkyrie One to Raava. I know you can hear me. I can read you. Please acknowledge."

Asami sits up and stares, her face showing her shock.

I stare at the ceiling and pray, but before long I see a flicker in the HUD

READ YOU LOUD, AVATAR

I HAVE DISABLED THE HELMET AUDIO OF LIEUTENANT BOLIN

YOU MAKE SPEAK FREELY

I grimace, but keep going. "Raava, you're controlling the fighter, aren't you?"

I ignore the surprised murmured from everyone else around me, and I work to hold in my anger.

IN ESSENCE THAT IS CORRECT

"Why did you bring Bolin with you? You're putting him in danger."

I hold my breath, but didn't have to wait long.

THERE ARE ELEMENTS OF PILOTING A FIGHTER THAT ARE INFERIOR IF DONE SOLELY THROUGH THE FLIGHT COMPUTER

I AM NOT FLYING DIRECTLY, BUT RATHER ENCOURAGING FLIGHT STICK RESPONSE THROUGH THE HAPTIC GLOVE WORN BY LIEUTENANT BOLIN WITH HIS CONSENT

ADDITIONALLY I AM RECEPTIVE TO HIS EXPERIENCE AND INSTINCTS

WE ARE FOR ALL PRACTICAL DEFINITIONS FLYING TOGETHER

I choke on that, and drop my gaze to where Asami is watching me anxiously. I gesture madly for her computer and start typing Raava's comments so everyone else can see.

 **somehow they've figured out a way to fly together - raava is giving direct input to how bolin handles the flight stick**

The jaws of the Bitches all go slack as they look at the computer screen.

"She's doing what?" Kuvira demands. She turns to Asami. "How is she doing that?"

I wave her down. "Raava, what do you hope to accomplish?"

AFTER EVALUATING THE VARIOUS DATA SOURCES AND INCORPORATING THE DISCUSSION OF DOCTOR SATO LIEUTENANT COLONEL KUVIRA SERGEANT WEI AND SERGEANT WING THIS SEEMED THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION TO REDUCE RISK OF LOSS OF LIFE

My fingers start drumming again. "Why didn't you say anything? Haven't we shown that we appreciate your suggestions?"

There's another pause, unusual as the AI tends to not need one.

I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT YOU WOULD HAVE AGREED TO THIS COURSE OF ACTION

LIEUTENANT BOLIN AND I AGREED THIS WAS THE BEST POSSIBLE SOLUTION

My fingers fumble as I pass this on.

Asami leans forward and types a question for me to ask. I squint at her then nod. "Raava, I'm not buying you couldn't fly the ship without Bolin. What's the real reason he's with you? And why are you deleted from the Valkyrie?"

Another pause, even longer. Just when I'm about to turn to the others, Raava's message appears.

I COULD NOT DO THIS WITHOUT HIM, AND THE ONLY PLACE I AM WHO I AM MEANT TO BE IS WITH HIM.

Eyes wide, I convey this to Asami. She peers at the message, and her face goes white.

"They're approaching the detection zone for the next mine," Wing announces, his voice shaking slightly.

I WILL PROTECT HIM

I WILL PROTECT YOU ALL


End file.
